A/N: I got real angsty a few stories ago ("All I Want For Christmas Is You") and this is my attempt to try and fix it. Song is from How The Grinch Stole Christmas.

Negaduck would be so pissed if he knew how many people were in his house. But he didn't need to know the number. Or who specifically was here. Christmas was the one time of year when you could use magic as an excuse for anything untoward happening.

So, magic.

Not ten people coming and going as they put the house back together.

Negaduck was still in the Prime Universe, anyway. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"I'll build that," Gosalyn said to Goofy who was carrying a piece of what would become a bed frame up the stairs.

"I don't mind puttin' it together—"

"Dad," Max said, his tone patient. "We're not supposed to go in the bedroom."

"Well, okay. But if ya change yer mind, I'll be more'n happy to do it fer ya."

"I appreciate it," Gosalyn called as Goofy ascended the stairs and set the bed frame in the hallway. He loped back down the stairs and out to the truck that Gosalyn had commandeered to bring the furniture to the house.

"Sorry," Max said, rearranging his grip on the kitchen chairs he was carrying. "He gets excited about building things."

"Usually I'd let him," Gosalyn said, looking up at Max. "But Negaduck's bedroom is… private. I feel weird going in there."

"Once he sees everything, he's not gonna care that you were in his room, Gos."

She sighed. "I hope not."

"Okay," Max nodded and glanced toward the kitchen. "I'm gonna go set these down and then we can talk about this."

"There's no time for talking," she said.

Max frowned and Gosalyn led him into the kitchen so he didn't have to stand in the hallway holding the chairs any longer than necessary.

Once he'd set them down, she gently placed her hands on the sides of his face. "I appreciate you, so very much, but we really need to get this done and get out of here. I promise we can talk about all of this later, yeah?"

Max leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers. "You won't change the subject or pretend it's resolved when it isn't?"

Gosalyn withheld a wince; he knew her so well, maybe a little too well. "If I do, you'll call me out on it."

"That's not much of an answer," Max said, sighing. "But all right."

Gosalyn smiled softly as she met his soft brown eyes. "Love you."

Max brought his arms around her in a hug. "Love you, too."

He walked back to the truck, Gosalyn following and continuing to direct traffic as Scrooge, Donald, Huey, Dewey, Louie, Launchpad, Drake, Goofy, and Max helped move in the new furniture.

Gosalyn had initially been planning to just swap out Negaduck's old furniture for new as his Christmas present this year, but then he'd set his house on fire so she'd had to do an entire reconstruction. Using handymen from the Negaverse, she'd managed to get the building back up to code, rewiring everything, putting in new plumbing, and a central heating and cooling system. The works. She'd pretty much had crews working around the clock for the past few days, but the promise of Negaduck no longer bothering the work crews or their families after this job was done had been enough to motivate them crews to work through the night.

That and the expensive goods Gosalyn was giving them for their trouble.

The real challenge had been keeping Negaduck away from the Negaverse.

She'd come up with flimsy excuses of finding a hideout for Negaduck within the Prime Universe before he went back home. He and Drake felt uncomfortable with Negaduck crashing in Darkwing Tower, so it hadn't been hard to convince the Masked Menace to find a place of his own.

He'd found a few potentials and was staking them out today, but he planed on returning to the Negaverse tonight, regardless if he found a new hideout or not. And Gosalyn couldn't keep him away forever, even if she used her most concerned expression and made her eyes real big, saying, "You don't have a home. Please find a hideout here then we can find you a new house there. One universe at a time, Papa Wolf."

That line had only worked a few times. Even then, he was probably humoring her.

So, tonight.

Most of the house was finished, at least. She just had to put his bedroom together then she could send him a text in that horrendously complicated texting system he'd made her memorize, and let him know she was waiting for him in the Negaverse.

Then she'd see what he'd say to her rebuilding his house without his input. Or supervision.

She hadn't been lying when she'd told Max that Negaduck was private. There were hideouts he refused to take her to. Parts of the house he didn't like her in. He'd lived on his own for years and was only now learning to make room for someone else.

And he'd had to hide away parts of his life so no one would find them and exploit him.

Which Oblivion had made worse. He thought everything through so carefully before pulling the trigger — literally and figuratively — on anything now. Hid any sign that he'd been anywhere, even going so far as to hide his tracks in the snow or avoiding puddles so he wouldn't track any water. He was contemplative. Didn't set off any explosions unless he was absolutely sure of his success.

He'd broken out of that to burn his house down.

But Gosalyn had fixed it.

Did he want her to, though? A year back together had done little to bridge this weird gap in their relationship. She couldn't read him like she used to.

So, honestly, who knew how this house transformation would go?

"Whaddya say to ice skating tomorrow?" Max said, leaning in the doorway in between the living room and the hall with a smile. The frame didn't bend under his weight. Gosalyn would need to adjust to this new house as much as Negaduck would.

"Are you seriously asking me out on a date when we have to put a whole house together?" she asked.

"It's all done," Max said, glancing around. "We're just putting up the decorations now. But ice skating? We were interrupted last time."

"Because we weren't supposed to be there," Gosalyn said.

Was the house really done? That meant Negaduck was all the closer to seeing it.

And Gosalyn would find out if she really knew him as well as she once did.

"It'll be official now," Max said, walking over to her. "And totally legal. And it'll get that worry off your face."

Gosalyn smiled nervously. "I'll know how much he hates this by then. No need to worry when I know he's upset."

"He won't hate it," Max reassured her, setting his hands on her shoulders.

"I don't—"

"You gave him his home back, Gos," Max said, looking her in the eye. "He'll probably be surprised, but he won't hate anything."

Gosalyn took a deep breath before saying, "I used to know that. But ever since Oblivion…. I'm not sure of anything anymore."

Max brought up a hand to stroke her cheek. "A place like that would change anyone who visits. Doesn't mean you don't know him. Or that his feelings towards you have changed. You two just have to get used to each other again."

"It's been a year already," Gosalyn said. "How long is this supposed to take?"

"As long as it needs to. Which I know isn't much of an answer or one you want to hear right now. But you can't put a time limit on this. One day, out of nowhere, things'll just click again. And if they don't, that's okay because I know you'll keep trying and that's all that matters."

Gosalyn pressed herself to Max's chest and was immediately enveloped in his arms. He cradled the back of her head with one hand and some of her insecurity fell away. It would return when she was facing down Negaduck, but for now, she felt sure in her decision making. If Max believed in her, then maybe there was something to this.

"Are you two gonna make out?" came Huey's voice from the direction of the living room.

"Oh, gross," said Louie.

"Boys," said Scrooge, his voice stern.

Max and Gosalyn stepped away from one another and faced the others.

"We weren't making out," Gosalyn said, the mere thought of doing so in Negaduck's home sending a jolt of discomfort down her spine.

"But you tend to see in others what you want for yourself," Max said with a smirk. Dewey laughed as Huey and Louie blushed before grabbing the Jack Skellington garland to weave it through the banister.

Max glanced down to Gosalyn. "So. Ice skating tomorrow?"

She smiled softly. "Sounds good."

"I can show of my moves for once," Max said, grinning. "And we can talk more about all of this. And you can tell me how much Negaduck didn't hate it at all."

"That's a lot of talking," Gosalyn said, but somehow was already looking forward to it.

"Learned from the best," Max motioned to Goofy who was walking by them.

"Sure did!" Goofy threw an arm around Max's shoulders. "Ain't nothin' gonna get resolved if ya don't talk 'bout it." Max nodded in agreement before Goofy tousled his hair.

"This is a lot of skulls for Christmas," Drake groused, glancing around at the decorations. "It's a lot of skulls in general."

"Good thing it's not your house," Gosalyn said, raising an eyebrow.

"She's got ya there, DW," Launchpad said.

The last of the Christmas decorations up, Gosalyn escorted everyone back to Duckburg so they could return to their own universe. With goodbyes and promises of favors returned, Gosalyn saw them off.

But Drake lingered. "Everything okay?" he asked.

Gosalyn shrugged. "I don't know how Negaduck's gonna react, but otherwise, yes."

"I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, but I'm here if it all goes south."

Gosalyn took his hand and squeezed it with a smile.

"But anything that gets him out of the Tower is something I support," Drake said. "I'll make him like it."

"Always thinking of others."

"It's in my nature," Drake preened, but he sobered as he observed her. "But really. It's gonna be fine."

Gosalyn hugged him. Even if Negaduck hated it, if Gosalyn had miscalculated, she'd have this. She was always safe here, with her father.

Separating, Gosalyn said, "Get going so they can close the portal. I have a bed frame to build."

Drake shuddered. "Glad LP and I don't have to put that together. I don't think we've recovered from building LP's new one a few months ago."

"See? I'm doing this to help you. Guess altruism runs in the family."

Drake smiled. "Looks like it, sweetheart. Tell me how this goes?"

"Of course."

With a nod, Drake disappeared through the door.

Gosalyn returned to the house on Avian Way and got to work. When she had Negaduck's room more or less together, she texted him and walked around the house, just to make sure everything was ready.

And hoped with every step that she hadn't made a huge mistake.