A Rewritten Family History...
HELLO... I know it's been almost a half a year since the last chapter but half marathon training, writers block, overall burnout...pick your poison got in the way of posting an update which in turn kept me from posting the next chapter here. When I initially wrote this chapter (13 months ago I believe) the first part of it came really easy and a part of me wished I placed the flashback there because by the time I got to the backend/flashback scene it just creatively drained me. Again the cause of Della thinking fish are gross wound up being anti climatic but I just needed to pound out something so I hope it's still enjoyable. I kind of rec-conned her having an actual FEAR of fish cause you know….Gyro has an underwater lab...
I have a side blog identical-cousins-au on tumblr if you wish to engage and as always I'm six chapters ahead of posting on AO3 (user name 1lilspark) if you want to engage there
Fethry had always been a bit of an outsider when it came to the family. Okay sure, Donald took him on as first mate of the Melody on occasion but that didn't stop him from being isolated in an undersea research facility for the better part of four years.
That was all in the past however as he was presently perched on a barstool at Burying Hatchets. He still couldn't believe that in the period he'd been gone his brother had decided to give up living in his own isolated state barricaded in a cabin in the woods to open up this establishment in the Duckburg Industrial District.
Looking over toward his brother whose normally stoic expression was replaced with a genuine smile as he stood around the ax throwing pitch with Della's moonlander friend Penny and his honorary aunt Goldie's estranged daughter Dickie. The sight of the trio caused a smile to spread to Fethry's own bill as well.
"So, what's your poison," spoke a voice from behind the bar as he soon turned his head to spot a rather tall ruggedly handsome rooster with scars down his cheek and a prosthetic beak standing behind the bar washing a glass.
"I'll have a rum and coke...hold the rum," Fethry spoke with a friendly smile.
"Ah a lightweight I see, or just not a day drinker."
Shrugging his shoulders, Fethry couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle.
"A bit of both honestly. I've been meaning to check my brother's place out for a while...though I suppose I should have come at a time when it was more active huh?"
He expected the bartender to give him a yes however instead he was met with a shocked expression crossing his prosthetic.
"Wait….YOU'RE the baby brother who lives in that lighthouse just outside of town."
"YOUNGER brother," Fethry replied back defensively as while he was younger than Donald and Della by a few months he hated being considered a baby. "Fethry...my...my name is Fethry."
Was he flushing? Why was he flushing?
"Steelbeak," the rooster said, holding out his hand with a confident aura surrounding him.
"That's a little on the nose don't you think?" Fethry replied, giving the man's hand a shake. He definitely held a strong commanding grip he mentally observed.
Steelbeak couldn't help but let out a laugh at his comment.
"I know, I know….but it's a much cooler name than my given one."
"Which is, if you don't mind me asking."
"Hugo."
Hugo, Fethry thought to himself pausing for a moment. He could see the man as a Hugo but yea, Steelbeak was a pretty awesome name.
He'd been so busy engaging with his brother's hot bartender that he hadn't realized the trio had moved from the ax pitch toward the bar until a large hand was placed on his shoulder.
"Little bro, It's about time you graced this place with your presence. I was beginning to think I wouldn't see you again until Della's Wedding."
"I'm going to go and whip you up one of my famous mocktails while you talk about family stuff," Steelbeak said with a wink.
"Oh, can I have one too?" Dickie asked, "I'll totally pay this time too I promise."
"Your money's no good here O'Gilt." Abner said with a shake of his head as Fethry watched the blonde roll her eyes playfully at the bar's proprietor before placing her elbows on the bar, leaning forward in an act of defiance.
"I'll tip you handsomely," she whispered playfully in Steelbeak's direction.
"I heard that," Abner spoke with a chuckle, however Fethry's mind was still wrapped around the fact that Abner brought up Della's Wedding. A part of him wondered how Abner even knew about this event; with being three years older than Gladstone and five years older than Fethry himself, Abner had never been as close to the rest of the cousin group. Letting his eyes gaze toward Penny however his question was answered as he was sure that Della had come up in their conversations more times than not.
"You're coming to the wedding?" Fethry asked with a surprised expression, "I thought you were allergic to family functions."
"Normally, but seeing our cousin all dolled up, that's a rare sight indeed."
It was then that Steelbeak returned to the group, placing a couple of drinks in front of Dickie and Fethry.
"I don't mean to pry into your family business, but I know first hand that Della Duck was a vision in black lace at Emma Glamor's It List Gala last week."
Fethry was surprised at what Steelbeak said. Sure, he knew that Della and Donald had been invited to the Gala by Donald's new girlfriend Daisy, afterall Gladstone wouldn't shut up about it. Though the man that was standing behind the bar, he wondered….
"Wait, YOU were at the It List Gala, no offence."
Steelbeak let out a slight laugh.
"No offence taken. Working here at Burying Hatchets is actually my side hustle at present. I'm currently employed by Mark Beaks."
He didn't know what to think about that piece of information afterall while the tech mogul had a bit of a reputation he'd never met the parrot so who was he to judge? Instead he'd taken a sip of the drink that he was given. The blue drink was a little bit fruity and a little bit bubbly and he made a mental note to ask for the recipe at a later date. Now however, Dickie had managed to pull up a photo on her phone of Della all dressed up for the ball and had since handed it to Abner.
The tall plaid clad duck couldn't help but curl his bill into a smirk.
"Wow!" Abner exclaimed as Fethry wondered when the last time his brother even saw Della. Definitely before the whole Spear of Selene incident.
"The High Society look definitely suits her, must be that McDuck blood running through her veins."
Fethry just shrugged back his shoulders taking another sip of his drink while his brother handed Dickie back her phone.
Speaking of phones, the sound of one suddenly began to buzz as everyone aside from Penny and Abner looked down to see if it was theirs.
It was Steelbeak's phone, apparently his other boss had summoned him to the Waddle office for whatever reason.
"Don't be a stranger," The Rooster spoke with a smirk before he headed out of the bar leaving the foursome behind.
"I really should get going too," Fethry said after a moment of awkward silence, "Gyro wanted me to swing by the lab next time I ferried to the mainland though I don't know why. He's always going on about how Marine Biology isn't REAL science."
He watched his brother roll his eyes before once more clasping him on the shoulder.
"Don't be a stranger brother."
Fethry tossed back the rest of his drink, nodding, knowing he'd be back sooner rather than later.
The trip crosstown from the bar to the bin was an uneventful one and soon he found himself riding the hydrolator down to Gyro's underwater lab. He was always impressed every time he had managed to make the trip down there. Sure, he had his lighthouse research facility but to work with marine life so close…
Letting out a lingering sigh he stepped off the transport only to notice a figure who had been sitting in the lab.
"I'm surprised to see you here," he spoke with a grin as the person looked up, locking her eyes onto his flashing a welcoming smile in return.
On the one hand it did make total sense that his cousin would be there in the moment after all this was her fiance's lab. On the other hand…
Fall 1993:
Despite his fathers overprotective tendencies due to the sudden losses of his aunts and uncles, Feathry had been pleased that he'd still been able to remain a Junior Woodchuck. Sure, he wasn't the most sociable nine year old however that didn't stop his curious nature. Plus, ever since his cousin Della moved into McDuck Manor he rarely got to see her.
"Hey Feth," a voice from behind him spoke as he couldn't help but smile, turning around to meet the ten year old girl who held a sheepish grin on her bill, "Want to go on an adventure?"
"Is this you asking to be my partner on today's nature walk? Because you know the answers always yes."
He watched her nod.
"Though…" he watched as she paused, gazing toward the Owl who had been talking with younger members of their troop before lowering her voice into a whisper, "We're not actually going to go on a nature walk."
Fethry raised his brow as he watched Della stick her hand into her sachal.
"I found this in Uncle Scrooge's Study. It's a treasure map."
Treasure Map? He thought. Sure, his aunt Hortence's brother was a bit of an eccentric from the stories he heard but to actually own a treasure map? Still, it piqued his curiosity and if you couldn't trust family well than who could you trust and so he simply nodded his head glad that Senior Junior Woodchucks like them had a sense of independence as he watched their leader give the go ahead to press on.
xxx
Heading deeper and deeper into the wooded area as his cousin led the way, he soon was impressed as every rock and tree that the map described seemed to match up with their location. Honestly with such accuracy he was beginning to wonder if his cousin had actually made the map herself instead of it being as dated as she claimed it to be.
Soon however the similarities seemed to end as they reached what seemed like a dead end or at least that was what he thought it was however his cousin couldn't help but light up.
"This is it! It has to be!" Della exclaimed as she began to scurrey onto a small patch of beach kneeling down as she began to dig in the sand with her hands. "I probably should have brought a shovel with me huh?"
Fethry nodded his head as began to kneel besides her moving his hands along the sand while wondering if there was a way to put their woodchuck skills to use and craft their own shovels when suddenly Della let out a blood curdling scream.
Following his cousin's gaze out into the water he instantly knew the reason for her scream…
"Why are you so surprised? This is my fiance's lab afterall."
Fethry simply nodded as he nudged his head in the direction of the clear glass wall that was basically an oversized fish tank in the side of the room.
"Oh, that," Della responded, answering his silent question with a shrug of her shoulders as she slid out a chair for him to take.
Taking the chair he nodded back thinking about how that while the shark attack they had witnessed as children had set him on the path to become the Marine Biologist he was today it had also gifted his cousin with a mild case of Ichthyophobia, more commonly known as a fear of fish.
"Well, even though the lab is in fact underwater the fish are actually holograms."
Fethrys eyes lit up at this revelation as had she never told him he would never have known this fact. Of course now he couldn't help but stare at them realizing their transparent nature and causing another moment of silence to fill the air before his cousin's voice rang out once more.
"But why are you here Feth?" she asked.
"Gyro told me to come by next time I dropped into town and so I had ferried over to visit Abner. I still can't believe he's not still hauled up in a cabin in the woods somewhere."
"I know right. Pen and Dickie have been trying to get me to come to Burying Hatchets. Maybe I could convince Abner to let me throw my bachelorette party there when the time comes."
Fethry nodded. He was sure that if Della asked Abner would say yes if nothing else than to make up for being estranged from his cousin even before the whole Spear incident. This of course led his mind to wander for a moment to Steelbeak as he thought if Della were to have the party there would the bartender engage in being a more traditional form of wedding entertainment. He hadn't realized that thinking of the rooster as a potential male stripper would cause his cheeks to flush until a slight cough echoed from Della.
"Your mind wandering?"
"Doesn't it always?."
It wasn't a lie, his mind did have the tendency to go off on tangents and so it was easy to steer the conversation away from his crush if that was in fact what he was feeling.
"So, what were you working on before I got here?" Fethry decided to ask, solidifying the change of topics between cousins.
He watched as Della began to nod toward the sketchpad she had, a smile on her bill.
"I've been working on designs for a new aircraft as well as giving some of Gyro's blueprints a fresh gaze using my mechanical experetice to hopefully prevent them from turning evil."
"My inventions aren't evil."
"They are drastically misunderstood," Fethry and Della both said at once as Gyro climbed out of the hydrolater walking over toward Della and placing a peck on her cheek.
Fethry couldn't help but admit the couple was so cute together and a prime example of opposites attract giving him hope when it came to his own love life.
"Anyway, I'm sure you're wondering why I wanted to see you."
"Up until Della told me the fish were holographic I just figured one of them needed some TLC."
He couldn't help but listen to Gyro chuckle at his assumption.
"Actually. While I have said Marine Biology isn't the most practical of sciences, you're about to be family and so my lab is your lab."
Fethry was shocked. He did not see this coming. Sure they had been amicable acquaintances over the past few years and he HAD technically been bestowed the honor of being Huey's godfather he had always felt some unsung distance between himself and the engineer.
"Thank you," He simply said as he looked over toward the papers that Della was looking over a few moments earlier. "Anyway, may I?"
"Don't push your luck." Gyro spoke in his normal deadpan tone causing Fethry to smile back wondering just how big a shift in the status quo was actually occurring at the moment.