Chapter Text
Fethry stood before the looming mansion, hesitant. He didn’t want to bother Uncle Scrooge, but he had nowhere to go after the McDuck Sublab was destroyed. Of course, he couldn’t blame poor Mitzi for causing its collapse, the poor girl had been so scared!
He tried his hardest to get himself back on his feet since then, but with every possession he owned waterlogged at the bottom of the ocean---including his resumé, he really didn’t have any options between this and becoming homeless. Fethry had stayed with Gladstone after the moonlanders invaded, which was okay, for about a month or so. It wasn’t that he disliked his cousin, quite the opposite actually. It was just that seeing him go through life so… easily really brought him down. Especially when he himself couldn’t find a job.
It had been pretty disappointing, if he was being completely honest with himself, but then again, being honest with himself wasn’t his strong suit. Gladstone must have noticed though, despite his usual denseness. He was the one that suggested he should move back to Duckberg and ask Scrooge for help. It kinda came off as him just expecting the world to hand him a solution like a random twenty dollar bill at just the right moment, but he did have a point.
If he just stays here, he’s never going to be self-sufficient again. Coasting by on his cousin’s luck just isn’t a way to live. At least, it’s not how Fethry wants to live.
It had been a difficult decision--and a risky one, but he desperately needed a way to get back on his feet again. Surviving off Gladstone’s luck just wasn’t the way he wanted to live. Clutching his team’s jar to his chest with one arm, he plastered a smile on his face, and pressed the buzzer on the intercom.
Inside, Scrooge was getting some paperwork done. He didn’t particularly like this part of the job, but it was necessary and he wasn’t the kind of duck to put things off until the last minute.
Work is something you have to put effort into, and he wasn’t about to pawn something as simple as this onto a secretary or something. Not when he isn’t too busy to do it himself.
Ducksworth phased through the floor, and quietly cleared his throat. “Sir, your nephew-in-law, Fethry is here.”
Scrooge groaned, “What does he want? This better not be another one of those pointless adventures he insists on dragging me into.”
“He wouldn’t say; he insisted on speaking to you in person.”
Ugh, just his luck. The lad was getting smarter. “Fine, let him in.” Knowing him, he’d probably camp out there until the next time someone tries to go through the gate.
“Very well, sir.”
And with that, Ducksworth left in his usual ghostly fashion. At least it would take some time for Fethry to actually make his way to Scrooge’s study. That would leave him a little more peace until then.
Fethry offered Ducksworth a friendly smile as he led him to wherever Scrooge was. The fact that he didn’t outright turn him away was a huge relief. Though he wasn’t out of the woods yet, he at least had a small sliver hope to cling onto.
They made it to his study uninterrupted, thankfully. Fethry wasn’t sure how he’d explain why he was there to any of the others living in the mansion. He didn’t want Scrooge to get the impression that he was using the rest of his family to force his hand.
Ducksworth opened the door, and gestured for him to enter. Not much had changed in the study since he had last been there, aside from the odd artifact, treasure, or framed photograph.
Scrooge wore a somewhat neutral expression, though the way the corners of his mouth turned downward told him all he needed to know about what kind of mood he was in.
Pushing any feelings about that aside, Fethry widened his fake grin and said, “Uncle Scrooge!! It’s so good to see you! Gosh, it’s been well, years since I’ve gotten the chance to actually talk to you.” He glanced behind him for a second, hearing Ducksworth close the door. “How have you been?”
“Erm, alright I suppose,” Scrooge fiddled with some coins on his desk. “So, what brings you here laddie?”
“Oh well uh--” Wow, this was harder than he expected. “I guess there’s no dancing around it huh? Just… right to the point.”
Scrooge was unamused, “It's just not like people in this day and age drop in like they used to. Besides, I doubt you would’ve asked to speak to me like this if you just wanted to catch up.”
“You caught me,” he laughed anxiously. Better just come out and say it, then. They don’t call him ‘sharper than the sharpies’ for nothing. He let out a sigh. “I need your help. Ever since the sublab collapsed, I’ve just been living on Gladstone’s couch. I keep trying to find a job, but you see, most jobs want to see a resumé, and well…
mine
is at the bottom of the ocean. I need a job, and somewhere to stay until I can get my own place. I know you don’t like to give handouts, I
really
do, it’s just that I’m really out of options here and I don’t know where else to turn.”
Fethry had rehearsed that on the walk there, and in the week he spent trying to work up the nerve to ask. He wrote it and re-wrote it over and over again, and even had Gladstone look over it a few times--though he wasn’t as diligent of a proof reader as he would have liked. Eventually, he realized the writing was just pushing the date off further, so that left him with this semi-presentable mess of a plea.
Gladstone said it would be fine. Fethry wasn’t so sure he believed that, but well... here he is, doing it anyway.
Scrooge blinked, taken aback. “Lad, why didn’t you say anything sooner?”
“I thought I’d at least try getting myself out before asking for favors. It turns out that becoming a scientist is a lot more complicated than I thought,” he laughed awkwardly. College sure is expensive these days.
Letting out a sigh, Scrooge got up from his desk. “Alright, you can stay here for as long as you need. It wouldn’t be right for me to turn you away, now would it?”
Fethry beamed, and threw his free arm around Scrooge in an embrace, “Thank you so much, Uncle Scrooge!! I promise I’ll work hard from now on to earn my keep.”
“Erm..” Scrooge said, standing there, arms at his sides. He took a step back, and dusted himself off. “As for a job, I’ll see what kinds of openings I’ve got laying around. You probably already know I’m not gonna start you off on anything big, but if you keep your beak to the grindstone, I’m sure you’ll get to where you need to be in no time.”
He nodded, heart racing with relief and gratitude, “Of course. I really can’t thank you enough for this. I don’t know
what
I would’ve done if you said no.”
“It’s not like you can rely on your four-leaved-clover of a cousin. Knowing him, he probably won some sort of free vacation to the Bahamas and is on the plane as we speak.”
“Oh he’s not that bad,” Fethry insisted. “I mean, he was nice enough to let me stay with him all these months. I probably would have had to sleep on the docks without him . It gets cold out there, you know; like the souls of those the ocean claimed are calling out to you…”
“What.”
“Anyway! I mostly moved out of his place because well, you’d think by hanging around him so much, some of his luck would rub off on me, but I guess not. It must’ve been more lucky to have me at home cleaning than getting me a job so I can help pay rent.”
Scrooge motioned for Fethry to follow him out of the room, saying. “The lad can pluck a twenty out of the air whenever he feels like. Money is something he’s never had to worry about in his entire bloody life.”
Fethry let out a halfhearted laugh, “Yeah, I guess not. Still, it would have been nice to get a job at, oh I don’t know, his favorite restaurant. I’m sure having someone to give him an employee’s discount would be plenty lucky.”
“Well, that just goes to show you luck can’t be relied on. Not
his
luck, anyway.”
They arrived at the living room, where the three little donalds were either reading, watching tv, or playing on their phones. The green one was doing a bit of the latter two.
“Oi kids, your Cousin Fethry’s gonna be staying with us for a while. Can you help us bring in his stuff?”
“Oh that won’t be necessary,” Fethry said, holding up a hand. He turned around and gestured to his backpack.
“I’ve got everything I own on me right here.”
The red one, Huey, looked up from his book, “Really? That’s all you have?”
“Pretty much,” he smiled. “Unless you count whatever I had in the sub-lab. But those things are
long gone
.”
“Oh…” he looked away, “I’m sorry...”
“Don’t worry about it, little donald. It’s not your fault, and I’ve already replaced half of what I lost. Besides, I got the most important things out anyway; my team!”
The little shrimps swam around their jar. He would have to get them a bigger tank later, now that they don’t have the whole ocean to swim in anymore. Poor things didn’t deserve to live in such a cramped space.
“Huh, well alright then,” Scrooge said. “Well. I’ve got paperwork to do, so feel free to set up in any of the open bedrooms. Everyone else is out for the day, but Ducksworth and the kids are here if you need anything.”
With that, he turned around and went back the direction they had come from, leaving Fethry and the kids alone together.
“So....” Louie began, “Uh, how are things?”
“Pretty good!” he chirped. “I don’t think we’ve formally met. I’m your cousin Fethry! It’s so nice to finally meet you, and
so
nice to see the other little donalds again.”
“Right, you were there when we were fighting the moonlanders, riding a giant…
thing
, right?” The memory of them all posing together popped back into his mind.
“Not just
any
giant thing, I was riding Mitzy!! She’s a shrimp like my team here, only the toxic undersea vents mutated her to her big size!!! Ahhh, they grow up so fast.” He wiped a nostalgic tear from his eye. “She’s staying in the harbor for now, but I promised to visit her every day.”
“Oh yeah, speaking of her,” Huey said. “What does she eat now that she’s so big?”
“Ah!! An inquisitive mind!!!” Fethry said, excited. It’s been so long since someone asked him about sea life! “She is an opportunistic omnivore, which means she’ll eat basically anything she can get; dead, alive, or decaying. I’ve been buying her whatever fish is the cheapest, so she doesn’t decimate the local fish population. I also make sure to get her plenty of vegetables too, for a balanced diet. I have to say though, caring for her is a real drain on my wallet. I just know my debt to Gladstone has to be massive by now.”
Huey grimaced sympathetically, “I’m sorry to hear that. Do you have, like, a deadline you have to pay him back by?”
“Oh
heavens
, no! He doesn’t expect me to repay him at
all
. He told me that even if he spent every penny he owned, there’d be some contest, or raffle, or any number of lucky things that’ll give him
more
than enough money to cover whatever he wants. Though, I would still like to make it up to him some way. It just wouldn’t feel right to not return the favor, you know?”
“Eh, I wouldn’t bother,” Louie said, cracking open a soda. “I don’t think he’d care if you did anyway. Besides, you definitely need the money more than he does.”
Fethry forced out a chuckle, and suppressed the urge to run his hands through his feathers anxiously. “Well, a favor is a favor.”
Louie regarded him with a look of disinterest, then shrugged. “Whatever. It’s your money. I’m just saying, don’t be surprised when he treats it like literally any other lucky thing that happens to him.”
Fethry frowned. Do they really think that little of Gladstone? Sure, his personality can be off-putting at times, but really, he has a generous heart. If he didn’t care about Fethry, he wouldn’t have offered to let him stay at his place for so long.
“Louie, you realize that not everything has to be paid back with money, right?” Huey pointed out, hands on his hips.
“That’s true!” Fethry said, putting the smile back on his face. “What better way to repay someone than with some quality time?”
Louie glanced at him, “Yeah, but literally everything costs money. Even if you’re not giving him money, you’re still spending money.”
“Ugh,” Huey rolled his eyes. “Will you give it a rest? I don’t know if you know this, but offering someone a place to stay when they’re
literally homeless
is a pretty big deal. Maybe it’s not *required* for him to pay him back, but it’s still a nice thing to do, you know, to show your
appreciation
a little?”
“Yeah, I get that, but since you bring up how he was, in
your
words ‘literally homeless’ don’t you think it would be a little unfair to give what little he has to a guy who clearly doesn’t need it? I’m not saying no to generosity, that’s
fine;
but in situations like these, can’t Gladstone wait until he’s finally on his feet again?”
“Um, like I said, he doesn’t expect me to pay him back,” Fethry added. “This is something I want to do. Really, it’s okay. I’m not going to give away all I own to him. I promise.”
Dear god, he didn’t mean to turn this into a whole debate . If he had known Gladstone was such a sore subject, he wouldn’t have brought up repaying him in the first place.
Louie sighed, “Okay, fine. Just don’t go overboard with it, you know? You gotta look out for yourself sometimes.”
“Don’t worry,” Fethry said, giving his cousin a reassuring smile, “I will.”
“Wow guys, great job,” Dewey said, not even looking up from his DS. “I think that was your most pointless argument yet.”
Huey threw a blanket over his head, “Nope, not allowed. Shut up.”
Dewey was unphased, and didn’t even bother removing it.
Fethry couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit. He couldn’t help but think of him and his cousins when they were that age. Casually messing with each other, more out of boredom and impulse than anything else. He sat down on the couch with them. Might as well stay here until the others get back.