Author's Note: Started as a light-hearted/comedy fic, resulted in over 5k words of feels here and there, enjoy!

Webby didn't considered herself a nosy person. Really, she didn't. Granted, she liked to practice her spy skills which sometimes involved eavesdropping on private conversations to gather intel. But in her usual day to day, she would say she didn't pry on other people's biunsness. Yet, that all changed when she caught Della's voice talking to someone at the end of the hallway.

"Are you nervous, kid?" Della asked. I sounded like maybe she was talking to one of the boys, so Webby was willing to turn around and let them be... when the older duck added "You know... first date and all" and that's when Webby froze in place, perhaps a bit too curious as to who she was giving advice to. Her utter shock came when the voice that answered wasn't from any of the triplets.

Lena chuckled rather awkwardly "Yeah, I'm...not sure what to expect, though. How-how am I supposed to...act?"

"As yourself. You don't have to pretend to be anything, that's the point" Della replied reassuringly.

"Easier said than done" Lena mumbled "Should I just...tell her the whole thing? About me?" she asked hesitantly "I mean...I might see her again after this, so I should, right?"

"Share whatever you are comfortable with"

"So, like? "Anyways, I'm a sentient shadow, kind of like the ones that came to life during the eclipse, just with 15 years of tormenting shaping up my personality, as you might already have figured out" and hope to never see her again?" she said sarcastically. Lena tended to jab herself whenever a topic was a tough one to talk about.

"You can rephrase it as "I turned this great despite those 15 years", kid" Della said with a tone that was both scolding and comforting. She didn't like when the teen spoke so poorly of herself "this is exactly why today is important, you need other people to see the real you"

"I'm a challenge at best and a nightmare at worst" Lena scoffed "Who in their right mind would put up with that? With me?"

'I would!' Webby's brain shouted, echoing in her head as she came to realize those thoughts scrambling out of nowhere, making her face heat up.

"I know it's hard to let your guard down, no one ever told us to stop fighting, even though the battle is over. But to take our lives back, we have to these kind of things, okay?" Della added with a gentler tone.

Lena sighed slowly, nodding "Yeah" she gazed up "getting my life back"

"Atta girl," Della said, no doubt hugging the teen and Webby felt her own chest ache. But couldn't quite place the words to describe why.

"Are you all settled to go?"

"Yeah, Indy is driving me, since shadow travel with my thoughts scattered isn't a great idea, but..." she traced back "Could you pick me up?" she asked shrugging "I really don't know how it's going to end or how much of a mess I'll be, so...rather be you the one who sees...that. Wouldn't be the first time"

"Of course, honey," Della said with a sweet voice "give me the time and address and I'll be there"

"I'll send it to you" she fumbled with her phone, showing Della "it's facing the beach"

"Okay, text me when you are done and I'll drive you home"

"Thanks, Della"

"Anytime, kiddo"

Webby had scrambled out of there as soon as her legs reacted once more. Her heart was drumming on her ears and her mouth ran dry. Why did it matter? Why did it sting in Webby's chest to think Lena would go on a date?

Well, for one, Lena could have told her about it! They were friends, so she would definitely have helped her get ready or given some advice...right? Yeah, she could have done that. Maybe that's what was bothering Webby. That Lena hadn't told her that she was going on her first date with someone she probably hadn't mentioned ever. Lena could have at least hinted that she was interested in someone.

Webby groaned inwardly until it was outwardly.

"Which part are you hung up on?" a voice called perhaps a little too close. Webby turned around doing a roundhouse kick that sent flying a can of pep against the wall "Whoa-! Hey! That was green-apple flavored! Do you know how hard it's to come by it?! It's not even legal" Louie Duck complained over his spilled drink.

"Louie?" she frowned "What are you doing here?" she asked while picking up the now empty can.

"Same as you, gathering some blackmail material, snooping around"

"I wasn't-! That's not what-!" she shook her head "how much did you hear?" she decided instead.

"You mean Lena seeing someone or my mom picking her up?"

So Webby had actually heard more than him.

"Never mind" she shook her head.

"So, what's the plan?" Louie asked nonchalantly, his hand in his pockets.

"What?"

"We are obviously going to follow them, right?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on! Don't tell me you weren't planning on casually dropping by to take a look!" he said almost eagerly, and by the way Webby guiltily gazed down, he could tell he wasn't completely wrong "you totally were!" he pointed an accusatory finger that was spatted away.

"I'm not about to crash Lena's first date!"

"First date, huh?" his smirk grew wider "come on, then we definitely should go!" he clapped once leaving his palms together "think about it, we all know what she is like and what she is, but we can't be sure others will take it as cooly as us, so we should go just as a backup," he said enticingly "just to make sure she's alright"

Webby groaned shuffling in her place "I mean...I don't want her to get hurt"

"Exactly!" he said, snapping his fingers "we'll just be the lookout, she won't even notice us there! And if this mysterious person tries something funny, dangerous, or magic-related, we jump in," he said with his smooth schemer-y voice "sounds good?"

Webby was not about to question her own morals, because she didn't want to hear the outcome of that self-exploration "Deal"

"Okay, so the thing is, even though we know it's somewhere facing the beach, that gives us absolutely no clues as to where their date might be. And since Violet was pretty determined to say nothing, that means-"

"Wait" Webby cut Louie short, "you asked Violet?"

"Um, yeah," he said as if it were obvious "the thing is her sister code doesn't work as our brother code, so she didn't budge" he explained "I would have ratted out Huey for half of what I offered her. And I would have done it for free against Dewey"

"So, Violet knows?"

"She didn't exactly say that, I just asked her for Lena's whereabouts today in exchange for something and she was rock-solid determined to keep shut" he shrugged his shoulders "but she's not as good pretending as she thinks, she's obviously covering for Lena. I mean, they are sisters, they live together, she was bound to know about the date"

"Right" Webby gazed down "Of course she would tell Violet"

Louie felt a pang of guilt "I mean, that or she overheard, it's pretty hard to keep secrets when you share a room. I should know, half the stuff I know about Wood-chunk of nerd and Dew-saster are by accident" he offered and the small smile Webby offered in return made it a little bit better "Now, since we can't scout the whole place without blowing resources, I'll say we do the most basic thing in the book and follow mom" he said proudly "we know she's going to pick her up, which gives us a location. I would say we just take her phone and check her messages but I have tried unlocking that thing before and I'm pretty sure the combination of numbers is something random, 'cause it's not anyone's birthday"

"So...we follow Della?" she repeated, saying it out loud made it feel far worse "But... if she's just going to pick her up, wouldn't that mean we would miss the whole...date?"

"Ah! You see, I've come to realize mom likes to arrive everywhere early, like super early" he explained "I'm not sure why, but she kind of recons her surroundings first and then goes to the place" he shrugged "So when she moves, we move"

"And how will we know when she goes?" Webby asked and as irony would have it, Della's voice echoed down the hall.

"Hey, kids! I'm going out for a bit! I'll be back in a couple of hours!"

"Because she always tells us when she leaves the house" this time his face didn't show smugness "she likes to make sure we know" he shrugged looking away "you know since..."

Webby nodded, there was no need to explain further.

"Okay, mom!" Huey called back "See you later!"

"Can you bring some pep on your way back?" Dewey added.

"Sure!" Della said, already fishing for her keys on the bottom of her purse.

Louie rapidly stood up grabbing Webby's hand, dragging her down to meet Della at the door.

"Hey mom" he slowed down to look casual "Where are you going?"

Della casually shrunk her shoulders "Um, you know, run some errands. I need some oil and glue for repairs, Launchpad can't keep using bubblegum to fix the plane. Thought I should go get them today"

"Oh, cool"

"You kids need something while I am out?"

"I don't know, which hardware store are you going to? The one near the beach has some really good candy. You know the one? It's right in front of the supermarket"

"Oh, that's actually on my way, sure I'll get you some snacks" she smiled not noticing she had slipped on her alibi, since she should have said that was her destination "How about you, Webby? Need anything?"

The girl seemed to be caught off guard "N-no! Nothing, not at all! Nothing from the beach or near the beach or anything like that!" she offered an exaggerated smile.

Della frowned "Oookay?" she arched a brow "Are you feeling-?"

"Anyways!" Louie jumped in to say pushing Webby down the hall "We should let you get going, it's kind of late, we don't want the place to close before you get there"

"Oh, right" Della checked the time "Guess you are right, see you later!" she waved getting into the car.

Once she had driven off, Louie rushed them to the garage, where their driver was currently working under the hood of the limo "Launchpad!" he called, making the mechanic bump his head.

"Aw" he turned around "Hey, green version of my best friend"

"Hey, can you drive us around for a bit?" he asked.

"I mean, sure, where to boss?" he asked in his usual aloofness.

"Let's start by going to the hardware store and we'll see from there" Louie smirked.

Sure enough, Della actually stopped in the place and bought her materials before getting back into her car, getting ready to drive away.

"Score!" Louie said to himself, holding the binoculars "Next stop, crashing Lena's date"

Webby cleared her throat.

"I mean, making sure she's having a good time," he said with a forced smile, turning back to the binoculars "nice, mom actually got me my favorite gummy-bears. And Dewey's drinks" he added "Okay, Launchpad, follow that car!" he pointed

"Wow, that's a crazy coincidence, Mr. McDuck actually has that same model, even the same plates! Isn't that just the weirdest?"

"Super odd" Louie rolled his eyes as they chased after the vehicle.

Soon enough, they turned right, arriving at a plaza where multiple little outdoor restaurants were serving. To the far left was a single building and to the right, the long bay where several people were fishing.

"So, this must be it" Louie said, looking around at the tables under the umbrella's "Do you see her anywhere?"

"Not really" Webby mumbled back. There was no sign of Lena anywhere.

"Let's wait to see if mom spots her first" Louie grabbed the binoculars, looking inside her car, only to notice Della was taking out some earplugs for heavy-loud duty. She put them in and leaned back into her seat opening the window. He didn't miss the way her shoulders flinched or how stiff her posture became. He frowned confused. Then it became abundantly clear, she was acclimating herself to the place before daring to step outside. That was the reason she always tried to arrive way earlier to any unfamiliar surroundings. She was still struggling to adapt.

Louie felt his insides turn a bit.

"Do you see anything?" Webby called.

"Um, no" he hesitantly said, handing her the binoculars "check on the tables, or something" he sat back on the seat, shoving his hands on his pockets, staying unusually quiet. Not that he was the more talkative triplet, but usually his silence wasn't this sullen, it was never awkward...but right now "Hey, Webby?" he traced back "You know how Lena sometimes says she doesn't like her own voice and that's why she learned sign-language with my mom?"

"...Yes?"

"Um...do you think...my mom really feels the same way about her voice, too?" He asked cautiously "I mean, I thought she was just spearing Lena's feeling and saying she needed it too, but..." he shrugged "I don't know"

Webby turned to gaze at him "Oh, she definitely does" she said perhaps too casually.

"What?" Louie frowned and Webby left her surveillance in favor of sitting next to him.

"Well...I've...seen it?" she offered "I've learned to recognize Lena's non-verbals when it comes to feeling odd about her own voice and I've seen Della's too," she said sympathetically, "I think it's actually worst for Della" she admitted on a softer tone, "Lena says that at least she could hear others and have the sound of my voice to remind her of something familiar, but...your mom didn't have that," she said as gently as possible.

Louie's head dropped even lower into his shoulders "I thought...it was getting better" he said "Other than that time Dewey mentioned he had seen her refusing to speak and be overwhelmed by sound, but he didn't get into details" he waved a hand "I mean...mom always looks so cool and collected, she could pull any job and scheme in the book to perfection and I don't say that lightly... so...she's probably not having it that rough, right?" he asked almost pleadingly, begging for Webby to take his side, to have reassurance.

Webby tapped her hands over her legs, looking around, trying to find a way to say it "You know...we were able to follow her for almost an hour without her noticing ...you realize why, right?" she asked carefully.

It took Louie half a second to make the connection "Because she doesn't check the mirrors!" he smacked his forehead "I'm such an idiot!"

Webby gently tapped his shoulder "It's okay" she cooed "It's not that we don't easily notice, it's that they don't easily let us see it" she explained "they are very similar on that regard" Webby chuckled dryly "I guess that's why they tell each other everything because they share the feeling"

Louie gazed up at her with a newfound realization "You really just came here to make sure Lena's date went alright, didn't you?"

Webby shrugged, fumbling with the edged of her skirt as her face turned red "Well...yeah. I don't want anyone to hurt her, she's been through enough"

Louie gazed up at his mom "Yeah... I understand that"

Webby smiled at him.

Louie smirked back "Well, come on then, let's make sure she's okay and then scramble"

Webby smiled and took a second glance all across the horizon until her eyes landed on the far left, where the building was. And there was Lena, by the door, with her head hanging sort of low, gazing at the tip of her shoes "There she is!" she pointed, Louie didn't need the seeing aid to spot her... or the woman walking her out.

"Well, whomever is with her looks a bit out of her age range" Louie said trying to lighten the mood as the two had a last exchange of words before Lena walked away.

"What?" Webby frowned "who is that?"

"No clue" Louie shrugged "maybe her date's mom?" he suggested awkwardly.

Webby opened the door, discreetly getting closer. Louie followed, leaving a very confused Launchpad behind.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Louie whispered, "what happened to stay away?"

"Something feels odd" she answered absently, her fingers touching her own bracelet as if it was trying to tell her something "Lena looks...sad"

"Maybe it was a bad-"

"No, she looks exactly as when she wakes up from a bad nightmare"

Louie was not going to question her on that "So what do you want to do?"

Against everything she thought of herself, she wanted to spy on the conversation "Get closer" she answered.

Neither of them noticed when Della had stepped out of the car, but somehow the older duck was already halfway to meet Lena. When the teen saw her approach, she did an effort to square her shoulders.

Della smiled softly "How was it?" she asked, arms folded, brows arched.

"Good" Lena said, offering a smirk, but Della gazed at her with eyes that told her she couldn't be fooled. So the teen dropped her posture, resting her forehead over Della's shoulder, sighing loudly "awful" she admitted.

Della patted her back holding a soft smile "Yeah, I bet it couldn't have been easy"

Lena mumbled something under her breath, brooding against her shoulder.

Della chuckled "Come on kid, I'll buy you an icecream"

Lena smirked despite herself as Della wrapped an arm around her and the teen leaned into the half hug.

It was both a sweet and sour image to see for Webby and Louie as they couldn't quite figure out what was going on.

After getting two cones, Della and Lena sat on a bench looking out at the sea. They stood in silence for the better part of a minute before Lena's voice gently broke the spell "I didn't like that...I had to tell her everything, or try to explain it anyways" Lena said, taking a bite out of her icecream to avoid saying more.

"Well, she has to know you first, so she can help you" Della asnwered.

Lena didn't seem convinced."You didn't need to hear my story to get it, you know? You barely even knew where I came from or how I ended up in the manor to understand me"

"Yeah, fair. We have that going in our favor, but I do think that saying it out loud to someone else, outside the family, is healthy"

"I'd rather just talk to you" Lena's posture all but crumbled.

"And you can always do that" Della turned on the bench, to face her fully, moving the lock of pink hair out of the teen's face "but there are certain things I can't help you with" she tilted her head to a side "And I know there are topics you don't feel comfortable telling me because they are related to my family and you don't want to put me in the middle" she patted Lena's head "That's why therapy works"

Webby felt the shock of realization dawn on her. That's what they had meant with a first date, as in appointment.

Lena smirked "I hope you are right"

"I am, don't you worry" she smiled back "Have you told anyone about it yet?"

Lena exhaled, her posture a bit more at ease as she continued to eat her snack "Well, my parents know, obviously. And Violet, since she used to be her therapist too and I needed someone else to tell me this was a good idea" she took another bite, swallowing slowly "other than that...no" she tried to meet her gaze "Should I?"

"When you feel ready" Della assured "for now, you made it through the first session, let's see where it goes"

Lena smiled before her eyebrow quirked up "How about you, are you still going to go?"

"Of course, I can't let you be the only one making progress" she ruffled her hair playfully "I start next week"

"Who knows on your end?"

It was Della's turn to sigh "Well, Donald because he's my rock" she said matter-of-factly "Beakley, since, you know, she is the one that found a specialist that used to treat former spies with trauma and PTSD and...well, you. That's about it, so far"

"No Scrooge?"

Della grimaced "Not yet, he still sees me as the legend he so desperately missed and...I don't want to dissapoint him"

Lena gave her a knowing look that said a lot.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I'll work on that during my session" she bit into her cone before chuckling alongside Lena. Della gently pushed her shoulder with a smirk "Hey, I'm proud of you, kiddo"

Lena smiled that easy going, charismatic smile that she rarely used in public "I'm full of surprises"

"That, you are" Della wrapped an arm around her shoulders evening her tone a bit "I mean it, though. You are one of the strongest people I know, honey" she rubbed her arm, holding her closer.

Lena leaned into the embrace, closing her eyes "Thanks, Mom"

That was about the last thing Louie had expected to hear. He pulled away after hearing that, walking back in the limo's direction, running a hand down his messy hair.

"Oh boy, I didn't saw any of this coming" he paced around.

Webby reached his side, trying to lay a hand on his shoulder "Hey, are you alright?"

"Yeah, well -no? I mean...this feels like something Dewey would be troubled about, but it's not the weirdest thing I've been through -not even related to mom- it's just a lot to process in such a short period of time! Like, the fact mom thinks that about herself, and if she thinks Uncle Scrooge sees her as such a legend and I just said that I thought she was well collected then that means I'm also the cause she keeps up the charade because she doesn't want to disappoint me or any of us!" he said "Oh, and Lena just casually calling her mom came out of nowhere too, but that shouldn't have blindsided me! I see stuff, I know angles,- and sure!- Have Magica De Spell as your relative and you'll crave any sort of care and love but it seems so sudden but they clearly talk like this all the time so...is Lena kind of my sister now?"

Webby was a bit over her head right now too, unpacking quite a few things out of that conversation "Look, I know this was...kind of like being thrown inside a mirror in which what it is and how it looks like is inversed and backwards, but-" she placed her hands on his shoulders to stop him from keep walking circles "but they are alright!" she said, finally breathing in "they are...actually trying to get better" she smiled softly "they are healing and taking care of themselves, isn't that great news?"

Louie stopped rambling in his thoughts and took a moment to let those words sink in "...That's...true" he hid his hands inside his pockets "I guess...those are good news" he smiled kind of timidly, softly, very unlike how he usually displayed himself "Mom is doing her best, wouldn't hurt if we -if I- made it a bit easier on her"

Webby smirked kindly at him "Yeah, now we know a little bit better how to help"

"We probably shouldn't have overheard any of this, huh?" Louie huffed "But...I'm glad we did?" he shrugged.

"We should probably keep to ourselves all of this" Webby fidgeted a bit uneasy "what we did was not exactly right, even if our intentions were good" she blushed.

Louie snorted, letting his posture relax once more, looking up at her "I thought your take away of this whole thing would be that Lena was not seeing anyone" he teased "and here I thought I would have to crash in so her first date wouldn't officially be with someone who wasn't you"

Webby turned a whole new shade of red "What?! No, that's not-! Why would you-?!" she shook her head "No, Lena and I aren't-"

Louie laughed "Relax, Webs" he raised both his arms "Whenever you are ready" he looked over his shoulder at the other two "besides, it looks like Lena is trying to get it all together too, so maybe it's not the right time for her either" he smirked to himself "not yet anyways" he saw how naturally the teen seemed to interact with his mom, and how in return, Della could let her guard down. Well, he wouldn't mind seeing his mom that comfortable more often, and if Lena could help that happen, then...having her as a sort-of-sister, couldn't be all that bad "For now, let's go home"

They walked inside the manor, they had a bit of time before Della made it back, since she was driving Lena home, which meant the pilot wouldn't know about thier little escape either.

"Louie?" Webby asked hesitentaly "Were you really just going to crash their date to make sure...well, you know?" she waved a hand.

"Definitely" he said, his tone as easy going as ever "Why? You thought I really just wanted to blackmail her with humiliating photos or something?"

Webby chuckled "Sounds like something you would do" she admitted.

He shrugged "I'll take that as a compliment" he smirked back.

And then Webby hugged him, out of the blue.

Louie arched a brow "Webs?"

"...Thank you," she said "I can't say I would have approved but...thanks"

Louie smiled to himself, hugging her as well, patting her back "It'll be our secret, until the real thing actually happens. I've waited two years for one of you to make a move, what's waiting a little bit longer?"

"Hey!" Webby smaked his shoulder.

"What?" he rubbed his arm with a devilish grin showing.

It was a while later when the door finally opened once more and Della walked in. She looked around before removing the earplugs, putting them away and relaxing her posture.

"I'm home!" she called as the triplets walked down to greet her.

"Hi mom," Huey said "you are just in time, Mrs. Beakley is serving dinner in a few minutes"

"Great, I'll go wash real quick then"

"You found some pep?" Dewey asked eagerly.

"I did" she stretched the six pack to him "don't take any before dinner, okay?"

"Sure! I'll stash it away" he ran upstairs.

And now it was just Louie.

"Oh, hey!" she fished inside her purse "I got you your snacks, same rules as Dewey, no eating them before dinner" she stretched the bag towards him "I didn't ask which ones you wanted, so I grabbed some of my favorite" she admitted.

Louie smiled "Thanks, mom. They are actually my favorite too"

Della's smile grew wider "Alright!" she ruffled his hair "Gummy-buddies!"

Louie smirked "Yeah, Gummy-buddies" he gazed at the bag "Um...maybe I can go with you next time you have to run some errands?" he said trying to sound casual "I mean, I might not talk a lot and stuff, but it would be a chance to step out of the house and avoid any life-endangering expedition, so" he shrugged "would that be cool?"

Della's eyes softened "I'd love that"

Louie gazed down bashfully "Sweet, well, I better get ready for dinner too"

"Hey, before that, can you help me with my phone?" she asked "there's this app to help you find places, sort of a map of the city? They changed some of the names on the streets, I'm kind of lost behind the wheel most of the time"

"Oh" Louie hadn't considered that scenario "Sure" he extended his hand, taking the device, only to be greeted by a blocked screen with a picture of the triplets on the background "You need to put your pin first"

"Right" Della shook her head, getting in a serie of six numbers.

Louie frowned "Is it a navigation code or something?" he finally asked.

"Huh?" she gazed at him "Oh! My password? No, it's a date"

Louie gazed at the first four digits "Who's birthday is that?"

"It's not a birthday" she traced back, her tone dropping a bit "It's the date I...finally made it back. When I met all of you"

Louie felt the realization hit him hard "Oh" he dropped his gaze back to the phone, absently moving around the apps to install a GPS, feeling the awkward silence before he cleared his throat "there, all set" he handed it back "you just put in the name of the place you want to go and it'll show you a route to follow, with directions and everything"

"Great, thanks" she grabbed her phone putting it back inside her pocket.

Louie shrugged for a moment "Well, see you at dinner"

"Yeah" Della offered a small smile before turning around and walking down the hall.

"Mom?" he called.

"Yes?" she looked over her shoulder.

"My password is the date of the Moonvasion," he said, shrugging into himself "You know...the day we...talked"

Della smiled heartedly at him, nodding. She understood.

"Love you too, kiddo"