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Title: Counting Cards

Summary: Goldie and Scrooge have known each other a long time now, and that's given them a special kind of closeness. Goldie can't say the same for the children he's dragging around with him now, but if she wants to continue the way they have she's going to have to learn. Too bad Goldie's never been good at being good.

...

Of all the things to inevitably loosen Scrooge's metaphorical belt, Goldie hadn't expected children to be it. Granted, she was almost entirely certain Beakley had forced him into a good portion of it, but it still came from a place of caring. The Scrooge McDuck she knew would have never allowed for soda, or toys, or pay-per-view movies. He swore that drew back to his almost constantly stolen wallet, but no child could one-up him on purpose, especially if he had his guard up.

Forget soft- he's practically hard-boiled.

But, deep down, Goldie is pleased by it. She revels in the domesticity of watching movies together under a blanket, a strong arm around the back of her shoulders (and, yeah, okay, it'd taken Scrooge an hour to work up the courage, and Goldie finds that hilarious). It's probably silly, but she did just spend a few months in the desert, then in Hades, and she's tired of adventuring and hopping around for a little bit. Theft, not so much. She's never gotten tired of gold.

"Ye came at a bad time," Scrooge rumbled, his voice quiet. "No adventures fer a while now. S'made us all a bit antsy."

"No adventures?"

"None."

"That doesn't sound like you. What happened?"

He shrugged. "The boys are in school."

Goldie snorted. "You can't really expect me to believe that you haven't been on an adventure lately because three children can't come along with you? You were doing it before now."

"Aye," he said, squeezing her arm in a 'you got me there' gesture. "De Spell gave them a pretty bad scare. I've tried since then, but the energy just ain't there."

"Ah, Magica." Goldie nodded along knowingly. "She always was quite the piece of work. Did I ever tell you about the time she tried to give me poison coffee but she mixed up the vials and I ended up a wereduck for a year?"

"Poisoning drinks is a running theme of hers."

"She's god-awful at it."

Scrooge grunted an agreement. "The kids've had plenty of near-death experiences, 'course, but nothin' like this. I wasn't there to keep them safe. And then there was Lena almost dyin'. It's... put a damper on things."

"I was under the impression that Lena was her shadow? Why would she kill her own shadow?"

"We donnae discuss that."

"The why, or Lena being-"

"That," he cut her off sharply. "Lena's one of us now. In a way, she was back then, too. Magica didn't take none too kindly to that."

Goldie leaned back and grabbed the remote, turning the volume down slightly. "A thought occurs to me."

"Uh-oh."

"I'm not the most well-versed with kids, but maybe putting them in danger isn't good for them?"

Scrooge's scowl seemed to droop even further down. "The McDuck blood is runnin' in their veins! Danger is a part of who they are!"

"Then maybe ease them into it? I couldn't've learned to rob banks without some BnE's under my belt beforehand."

"Bah!" He amped the volume back up. "We jump in headfirst all the time."

"We're different, Scrooge," Goldie said. "We've lived for a long time now. We've seen the world and found our destinies. If one of us died tomorrow, it would be a shame, but we have enough to be satisfied. Your kin don't."

Scrooge grew quiet, contemplating. His arm didn't leave her shoulders. "Ye really think we've done enough?"

She shrugged. "There's always more to do. But counting cards won't always be enough to stave off the devil."

"Dance with me?"

"Excuse me?"

Scrooge slipped out from under the blanket, standing tall in the light of the television. He held out a hand. "Yew up for a little twirl, O'gilt?"

Goldie laughed and grabbed his hand. There's a slight chill as she stands, blanket falling to the floor. She allows him to walk her away from the couch, positioning themselves in a simple ballroom style. Goldie considers making a quip about letting her lead, but the glow in his eyes begs her not to. This is clearly important to him.

"Goldie," he said. "We've known each other for some time now."

"Holy stars," Goldie said. "You're proposing again, aren't you?"

"Yew did say to ask," Scrooge commented, but he looked sheepish and wary at her response. "We've done most anything, Goldie. Except fer this."

A slightly delirious chuckle brought her forehead to touch his. "We all know this isn't for us. Not for forever."

"Perhaps."

"Scroogey, you know how deeply I like you." A pause. "You do, don't you?"

"Aye. And the same to yew."

"If we tried to force ourselves to be like this all the time, we'd end up hating each other. I won't have you hating me, Scrooge."

Scrooge pulled back to meet her eye. "And what if I want to stay this way? I end up some old fuddy duddy who hangs out on the couch and grumps about the weather? Would you hate me?"

"You already do both those things. Hasn't stopped me from enjoying your company yet."

"Good," he said, then pulled away, clearing his throat. "We should, uh, we should get back ta' that movie."

Goldie pecked his cheek, watching him turn stop sign red. "I suppose we should."

Author's Note: More Scroldie! This was more about the background of the family itself, which has hit a strange place. Between Lena being the newbie to the family and the shadow war being the first adventure they've had without some level of Scrooge- be it with them or the knowledge that they could call him for help- they've all hit a snag.

-Mandaree1