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Donald couldn’t help but grin as they flew back to Duckburg from Brazil. José asleep on his shoulder, Panchito humming softly in his ear, fingers running through Donald’s feathers, all three of them exhausted after their last adventure but so,

so

happy to finally be together again.

The kids were throwing them confused looks, had been since José first fell into Donald’s arms and caressed his cheek, making him blush. He thought Huey and Webby had figured it out, possibly the other two as well by now, they were all smart kids, yet they didn’t confront him about it. He wasn’t sure as to why yet, and he knew he would have to talk to them about it soon.

But right now, he felt so safe and warm in the arms of these men, and he couldn’t help falling asleep to Chito’s soft song.

~~~

They woke up as Launchpad landed, the three of them bumping heads together with the jolted landing. Donald groaned, rubbing his head where it had knocked against Panchito’s beak, looking over to his kids to make sure they were okay. They were fine, of course. Huey and Dewey were stretching after being cramped on the seats, Webby was already running down the ramp to meet her grandmother, and Louie was still asleep.

Suddenly self conscious again, because being back home meant they the three of them had to have a Talk (capital T), Donald stood and walked over to pick Louie up without waking him.

“I’ll take the boys to bed. Do you remember where my room is?” He asked his friends. He knew Mrs B had fixed it up, he normally slept in the boat on a matter of pride. However, he knew that if this Talk they were undoubtedly going to have went well, his hammock on the boat would be way too small for all of them.

“

Si

, Donald, you look after your

sobrinos

.” Panchito answered, looping an arm around José’s shoulders as they all left the plane.

Huey and Dewey clung onto the back of his shirt as they walked through the grounds and then the manor, obviously still tired themselves. The good thing about these adventure was how easy it was to get the boys to bed. He tucked Louie into his bottom bunk, then helped make sure the other two wouldn’t slip off the ladder and tucked them in as well.

“Uncle Donald?” Huey mumbled, making him pause.

“Yeah kiddo?”

“Would you have really left us for those guys?”

Donald’s heart tightened painfully. As mature as Huey was, he was still a little boy.

“You kids are my whole life. Even if I ever were to leave, I’d come running back by the end of the week. I’d have come to my senses by the end of the show.” He assured, running a hand over the top of the boy’s head. Huey smiled and leaned into the contact, before settling.

“Good. Good… night, Uncle Donald.” Huey murmured, the call echoing from Dewey in the bunk below.

“Goodnight boys, I love you.”

Shutting the bedroom door, Donald sighed. He’d gotten too carried away with his old friends, his ex-boyfriends. He loved them, and loved being with them, but he had responsibilities, he had his boys. That was why he broke up with them in the first place. He hadn’t wanted to, but he couldn’t let himself hold José and Panchito back. Now they were back in his life, with the boys as well. Things couldn’t be like they used to be, they couldn’t go back to the old days.

Which he had to tell to the two men.

Phooey.

~~~

Donald stalled a little longer by brewing a pot of tea, the smell of the earl grey helping settle his nerves a little bit. He took it all in on a tray, he was likely enough to spill it without the tray, no need to tempt fate. Pancho and Źe were sitting on the bed, talking with each other quietly as Panch duct taped his guitar back together. A brief rush of anger at Scrooge flared up, but he took a deep breath and resolved to deal with it later. Right now they had to deal with… them.

“Hey guys.” He said, letting them know he was back. They both looked up at him with warm smiles that made his heart melt a little, in a way that the boys never did. He loved his boys to pieces, but they would never bring him the sort of love these two once had.

“Donal’, are the boys okay?” José asked as he stood to grab the tray from his hands.

“Yeah, the boys are sleeping. I… we…” he rubbed the back of his neck, hesitant to continue.

“We should talk,

si, amigo

?” Panchito’s smile turned sad, placing his guitar aside as he slipped off the bed and sat down on the rug like they used to as kids. José placed the tea down before joining him, and Donald sat on the other side.

He started to serve out the tea just for something to do with his hands, making his two friends extra sweet the way they used to like it. Pancho chuckled as he took the offered cup.

“You still remember after all these years,

amigo

. Some things really don’t change.”

“But some things do.” Donald replied, holding his cup in his hands. Now that he’d started, it seemed he couldn’t stop. “A lot of things have changed. They can’t be like they used to be. I have four kids to look after, I haven’t been able to hold a job for longer than six months. Things are a little easier since Scrooge started helping with the kids, but he won’t pay for their phones or the normal kid things they want to do like the movies or arcades. I- he will if the kids can bet or trick him out of it, but there’s so much more to those kids than beds, food and adventures. Our relationship is still

fucked

, even though we’re trying to do better. Ninety nine percent of the time I’m still living on the houseboat in his

pool

. There’s-“

“Donal’,

meu bem

.” José interrupted, reaching out and wiping away tears Donald hadn’t even realised had fallen. “We know. We tried to pretend a lot of things this past weekend. No matter how much we want to pretend, it’s simply not… uhh…

viável…

viable! We have all fallen apart so much that we were able to lie to each other. What would Xandra think of us?” He teased, getting weak laughs from both men, both of them feeling the weight of everything that had happened.

“We want to try again, Donal’.”

Donald looked over at Panchito who nodded his head.

“

Si

, Donald. You mean the world to us. We let you go without fighting before, because we thought that was what you wanted. Maybe at the time it was. We tried to stay together without you, but we had to follow the work and fell apart as well. We do not want this to happen again.

I

do not want this to happen again. I love you, Donald. I love you, José. Even if I am never famous, I will be happy with the two do you by my side.” The rooster said, his voice full of conviction and love that Donald hadn’t experienced in years.

The duck hiccuped on a sob, very quickly finding himself embraced on both sides. The other two were quiet, just holding him until he found his words again.

“It hurt to leave you.” He confessed eventually, one hand clutching a sleeve of each bird. “More so that I couldn’t even give you a proper goodbye. When I came back to Della and Uncle Scrooge, I had thought back then that I’d be able to go back to you after a few months, a year at most. But then the eggs, and Della wasn’t, and I was. I had to be there for them.”

“We know,

meu amor

. We do not blame you for your choices of the past. We are all here now, we have grown some and have all the love in the world for each other.” José murmured, squeezing Donald tighter.

Donald took a deep breath.

“The kids?” He asked, feeling as well as hearing Panchito chuckle beside him.

“

Tus niños

are wonderful, and maybe you are forgetting, I grew up in a big,

big

family! I can handle some children.”

“

Sim

, I will be, how you Americans say… the cool Uncle.” José grinned, making Donald laugh properly.

There was a long way to go, but they covered some of that distance through the night. Talking about everything and nothing as they sipped their tea and taped Panch’s guitar back together.

~~~

The boys were all waiting for him by the time Donald got up. They tried to make it seem like they weren’t waiting, but he knew.

“Go get Webby, I’ll meet you all in the kitchen and we can talk.” He promised, ruffling Louie’s hair when he hesitated. He watched them run off, then headed down to the kitchen to start making some breakfast. The four of them came in as he was whipping up some pancake batter, setting themselves up on stools at the island.

“How about I talk first, and then if you still have questions you can ask them?” He offered, seeing as his kids didn’t seem to know where to start. Huey nodded, their unofficial leader, and Donald put the bowl down. Taking a deep breath, he gathered his thoughts before explaining.

“Back before you kids were born, the three of us were in a relationship together. We met just before college, went on an adventure or two of our own, got our degrees, and somewhere along the way we fell in love.” He sighed softly, reminiscing a little. “When I came back to Duckburg, the plan was to stay for a few months then go back to Mexico, then Della had her eggs. The fellas came up for a visit, just for a week before they had to go back. After your mother disappeared…”

Dewey and Louie squirmed slightly at the mention, Huey and Webby taking their hands to help calm them. Donald ran a hand over the head of the closet (Dewey), smiling sadly.

“After Della disappeared, I had to look after you boys. I didn’t have time for adventures or shows with the band. They offered to come back, to help me look after you, but I knew they would have trouble getting approved for immigration. Back then we were still young, I thought they’d be able to go on and be successful like we all dreamed about back then. So I… I let them go. I got a little carried away this past weekend, after not seeing them for a decade. But you kids are the most important things to me, okay? Always. The three of us are… we are going to try having a relationship again, but

you four are what’s important

. I want you guys to try and remember that. I love you kids, all four of you. José and Panchito are my partners, but you guys are my family, and family comes first.”

He gave the kids a few minutes to digest that information, and unsurprisingly it was Webby who spoke first.

“Where did you go with them? Adventures with the Caballeros aren’t documented anywhere.” She asked.

“Those… are some long stories. I’ll get José and Chito to tell them later, they’re much better storytellers than I am. They can practically transport you there.”

“Do we have to call them Uncle?” Louie asked, a little sulky.

“No, that’s up to you.”

“Are you gonna live in the manor or the houseboat? Wait, if you’re on the houseboat, do we lose our room?!” Dewey cut in.

“I’m not totally sure yet, but you wouldn’t lose your room. If we’re on the boat, we’ll all be in the same room.”

“Question?” Huey asked hesitantly, without his usual confidence. Donald nodded at him. “If we need to ask permission for something, do all of you have to agree? Or is it a two vote system? Or does it just matter what you say?”

“Dude, why would you ask that?!” Louie hissed.

“It’s important!” Huey countered.

“If I’m not around, at work or you just can’t find me, you can ask them. I’ll talk with them and set out some ground rules for all of us. For anything serious or important, you still come to me for now.” The children nodded in agreement, silent for a few moments.

“Are you still in love with them? Have you always been?” Huey asked, in the same quiet voice, and Donald could tell the underlying question.

“I… yeah. I never stopped loving them, somewhere in the back of my mind, my heart, even if I didn’t think about it as much in later years. But I never,

ever

regretted taking you in. Even when it meant leaving them behind.” Donald assured, reaching over to take Huey’s hand.

“Aww.” Webby cooed, smiling widely. “That’s so romantic! Like long lost lovers! Oh my gosh!” She squealed, the rest of them able to see when the idea popped into her head by her expression.

“Are you guys gonna get married?” She asked, her eyes shining with excitement. Donald blushed, then blushed harder as a familiar voice interrupted.

“Ah,

minha sobrinha

, that would be up to your

Tio

Donal’, and not for a long time.”

“Aw, phooey, how long have you two been there?” Donald sighed, running a hand over his face.

“Just since Huey asked his last question. Apologies for the interruption, we did not realise you had gathered in the kitchen.” José smiled, wrapping an arm around Donald. He rolled his eyes at the action, but his smile betrayed his happiness. Chito let out a happy yell upon discovering the abandoned bowl of pancake batter.

“Ah, Donaldo,

cariño

! You are making pancakes!” He cheered, bouncing over to throw his arms around his neck. “I have missed your cooking.”

“You

have

?” Dewey asked, all three of the boys looking varying degrees of shocked. Panchito only beamed.

“

Si

! He is maybe not good at all types of food, but the ones he is, ah, they are

exquisito

!” He ruffled Donald’s hair as he let go, laughing as Donald grumbled, bypassing the stools and jumping up to sit on the island. “I have not had the chance to say, but I very much like your little hat.” He informed Huey, who smiled brightly.

“Thanks! It’s very practical.”

“Of course! Everyone must have a uh… hiding hole.”

Donald smiled as he watched Panchi talk with his boys while he made breakfast for them all. José stood back, letting Panchito have his bonding moment. Donald squeezed his shoulder with a smile. He knew his time would come to bond with the kids.

~~~

Webby had found a very old ball for Huey to practise with. Donald was watching him from the pool while he did minor repairs, Chito cooking away in the kitchen. Huey was going after his Team Sports Badge for the Junior Woodchucks, and apparently being the waterboy didn’t count. You had to actually play the sport.

While Huey was a healthy kid who could run and adventure with Scrooge McDuck… sports were not really his forte.

José wondered out from the boat, just as Huey missed his goal again and groaned in frustration. He looked over at the boy, hesitating for a moment before glancing up to Donald. Donald grinned and nodded, making a little shoo-ing motion. With no further worries, José walked over to where Huey was practising.

“

Ei amigo

! What are you trying to do here?” He asked, smiling down at the boy. Huey looked up in surprise, fiddling with the… round ball-like-object-that-could-not-possibly-be-an-actual-ball in his hands.

“Oh, hi José. I was just trying to practise for team tryouts. I need to play a sport to get my Team Sports Badge for the Junior Woodchucks. Out of the teams school had to offer, soccer seemed the easiest.” He explained, shrugging slightly. José blinked for a moment, then grinned.

“Ah, a

menino

after my own heart! Football is the sport of my people, I can teach you many things, many things. But not with… that. You will not learn how to kick anything with that. We must get you a new ball! Come.” He said eagerly, waving the boy along as he started to turn.

“Wa- wait, Uncle Scrooge won’t pay for a new ball. He says this one still works. And I’m playing soccer, not football.” Huey half stuttered, stumbling after José for a moment before he realised he had actually started to follow the man.

“Maybe for games it works, but not for sport. Soccer is just silly American name for football, and lastly, we do not need your

Tio

Scrooge.” José said, waving his hand dismissively. “Would you like to accompany me into town and I will buy you new things.”

Huey was silent for a few moments until they came up to the boat.

“Really? Are you sure you wanna do that?” He asked, still clutching the ball that looked as old as Scrooge himself.

“

Sim

, of course. We will just ask your

Tio

. Donal’!” He called the last word up to the duck on the roof, who startled and tripped, but thankfully didn’t fall off the roof.

“

Desculpe meu amor

, but may I take your nephew into town?”

“Sure!” Donald said back, carefully climbing down the ladder.

Panchito poked his head out the window with a pout.

“But

Zeeeeeeeeeee

, I just finished making lunch!” He whined, making José smile fondly and roll his eyes.

“You always make enough for fifteen people at least! I will be back before too long.” He promised, pausing as Donald held out a hand.

“Did you do that again? Make food for way more than we need?” He asked Panchito, making the rooster huff.

“I do not know what you are talking about.”

“Panchi.”

“Ah, fine! I did! Are you happy?!” Panchito pouted again.

“Actually, yes.” Donald grinned, wiping his hands off on his work covers. “I know of a nice park near one of the shopping malls in town. We could go take a picnic with everyone and José could get Huey that new sco-

football

, I mean.”

“The one with heaps of swings?!” Huey asked, finally dropping the old ball as he grinned at his uncle. With a confirming nod from the duck, Huey squealed happily and ran off.

“I’m gonna go get Launchpad!” The boy called back, leaving the three adults to text the others and pack up the food.

Everyone

was a bit surprised that

everyone

turned up. Every living person in the manor (and boathouse) had piled into the back of the limo as Launchpad drove them to the park. Panchito loved the ride, whooping with every swerve and letting himself be thrown about between José and Donald. José was explaining the rules of football to Huey and Webby, with everyone else chatting amongst themselves.

Two of the boys ran off once they got there, a carefree “we will!” called back to the adults when Donald told them to be careful.

“Mrs Beakly, is it alright with you if I take Webby across to the…” José waved his hand in the direction of the building, a slight frown on his face. “What do you Americans call this again?

O mercado

? Market? Ah, mall, yes, the mall.”

“Please, Granny! He’s teaching us about football!” Webby asked, tugging on her arm. Mrs Beakly sighed, but smiled down at the girl.

“As long as you stay with Mr Carioca and Huey, I don’t have a problem with it.”

The children cheered, running ahead a little, giving José a chance to kiss Donald on the cheek in a quick farewell. Panchito waved to them from where he was setting up a large picnic blanket, the others joining him as the three of them went to the traffic lights to cross the street. The two children were listening raptly to him as he told stories of him playing the sport in his youth all the way into the sporting goods store.

José ended up buying four balls of varying colours. Two already pumped up, and two flattened. They wouldn’t need all four balls this afternoon anyway. On their way to the counter, the children just ahead of him, he spotted another object that he had often used as a child, grabbing it and hiding it from the kids as a surprise.

They weren’t more than fifteen minutes before they were back with the others on the picnic blanket, accepting plates of food set aside for them by the others. The conversation was lively, and despite fears from a few people, no serious arguments broke out among them. José could see Panchito’s hands plucking at invisible guitar strings, his eyes drifting off to the distance every so often. He needed something to do to keep focus, so José knocked one of the balls in the roosters direction.

“Did you ever manage to beat my old record?” He asked, a teasing smile on his face. Panchito squarked and stood, taking the ball with him.

“Just you watch,

amigo

! Your record is turning to dust!” He declared, dropping the ball and kicking it back up, keeping it in the air.

“What is your record for that?” Louie asked, seemingly curious enough to forget his self imposed rule of not speaking to the two of them unless necessary.

“Nine hundred and seventy four. I would have made it to a thousand as well had Felldrake not sabotaged our attempt at a peace treaty with the Anaphobians.” José answered easily, stiffening as Donald choked.

“Felldrake?”

“Peace treaty?”

“Anaphobians?”

“

Nine hundred and seventy four

!”

José sent Donald an apologetic smile, rubbing the back of his neck. His partner glared at him for a moment, before sighing and waving a hand for him to continue.

“Well… Felldrake was a magic wizard/demon person who was first trapped in a staff, and then later shared a body with his descendant Sheldgoose. The Anaphobians are a magical race of… ah… Donal’, how would you say this in English?” He asked, frowning over at him.

“Kinda like… half fairy, half elves? But with lots of hair.”

“

Sim

. We had to renew the peace treaty with them so they would not attack the rest of the world. They greatly admire athletic ability, so part of the treaty was my doing a thousand ball kicks. Chito was a little jealous and once we were back he resolved to break my record.” José explained, leaning back on his hand.

The kids seemed to take this new information easily, but Scrooge was frowning.

“And why would the Anaphobians trust you three? They’re famously untrusting.” He asked, crossing his arms. José shrugged with the arm he wasn’t leaning on.

“Because we are the descendants of the original Caballeros, and Xandra was also with us.”

“Who in the blazes is Xandra?!” Scrooge snapped.

“The Goddess of Adventure.” Donald answered deadpan. “She lives in a book.”

Scrooge scoffed, but José ignored him as he stood, kicking the remaining ball into his hand.

“Are you ready to learn,

garoto

?” He asked Huey with a smile, who smiled back and nodded. Webby came with them, both of them listening diligently to his instructions and doing their best to carry them out. Huey was still having trouble getting it after about fifteen minutes of trying, growing more and more frustrated. José knelt down and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You are trying this for the first time today, it is okay not to get straight away. Just need more practise.”

José looked over at their group, saw Panchito talking to Donald, the ball forgotten.

“Panch!” He called, making the rooster turn. “Football?” He asked, holding up the ball that Webby had just returned. Panchito let out an excited yell, jumping up and tugging Donald with him. Donald stumbled for a few steps, but managed to straighten himself before tripping (though it was a close thing).

They started just playing a two on two game, Launchpad coming over to stand with Donald to watch, but soon the other boys wanted in too. José, Huey, Launchpad and Dewey made up one team, while Panchito, Louie, Donald and Webby made up the other. It was a truly wild and fun game, taunts called out in Spanish and Portuguese, encouragements to the kids yelled in English, Donald tripping onto his face or tail feathers more than once. Even Louie, who really hadn’t warmed up to the two of them, was high five-ing Panchito when their team scored, and poking his tongue out at José playfully.

Scrooge had come closer to watch at some point, a small content smile on his face.

“Next point wins, I believe.” He said during a quick breather for a drink, making each team huddle together to discuss strategies. The game went on for another fifteen minutes until Huey kicked the ball from what they were calling mid-field, the ball racing past his brothers feet and going through their makeshift goal markers, the young duck’s beak dropping in disbelief.

“Goal!” José yelled, laughing and teasing Panchito in rapid fire Portuguese until he very suddenly had his arms full of duckling.

“Thank you thank you thank you!” Huey yelled, making José flinch from the noise so close to his ears, but holding the boy tight regardless.

“Ah,

meu filho

, of course. That was such a good kick! Your football team would be lucky to have you.” He proclaimed, beaming as the boy giggled.

Panchito took and squeezed his hand after Huey ran back to the other kids, only just preventing José from tearing up.

~~~

They were back in the manor tonight, the weather bad enough to make staying on the boat undesirable. It was very late, but Panchito wasn’t tired. He knew he would regret it tomorrow, but without a properly working guitar to put his excess energy into it was harder to keep control of all of his… quirks.

(Donald’s voice in the back of his head told him to say symptoms, but that had always been a difficult change)

The manor was quiet as he roamed the halls, occasionally jumping or skipping on his way to deal with his excitable energy. He hummed absently to himself, from old Caballero songs to songs from the marketplace when he was a child to his favourite American pop songs, just so he had something to

do

. He didn’t like to sit still, didn’t like to stay quiet. It hurt his brain to do so.

Finding a wide, abandoned (for the night) room, Panchito grinned. He started spinning around and around in circles, his arms stretched out to the sides, air rushing through his feathers. After several minutes of spinning he began to get dizzy, and slowed to a halt, breathing hard and laughing to himself. A flash of pink by the door made him pause, tilting his head to the side.

“Webby?” He spoke softly, smiling gently at the girl as she poked her head around the open door again. “What are you doing up at this hour

querida

?”

The little girl shrugged, twisting the hem of her nightshirt in her fingers.

“I couldn’t sleep. Too many thoughts…” she answered, not meeting his eyes. Sighing softly, he walked over and picked her up, running a hand through her hair.

“Me too. How about we get some cinnamon tea, hm? Then you can tell me about all those racing thoughts of yours.”

“Cinnamon tea?” She said doubtfully.

“

Si

. I know your

Tio

likes nutmeg and that you don’t, but cinnamon is sweeter, and it’s better when you have with some sugar and milk. I think you will like it.”

Webby nodded, holding on around his shoulders until they reached the kitchen and he placed her on the bench.

“Our secret.” He whispered, making her giggle as she began to kick her legs and he made the tea. Once it was all ready, he joined her on the bench, his legs crossed underneath him.

“So what’s on your mind?” He asked, blowing on his tea before sipping on it. Webby copied him, shrugging slightly as she lowered her cup.

“I just… I miss my friend, Lena.” She murmured, looking down at a bracelet on her wrist.

“Lena? I have not heard of a Lena. Do you want to talk about her?” Panchito offered.

Talk about her she did. Panchito transferred her into his lap as she told the story, stroking her hair as tears would appear. Webby would sip her tea when she started to get a little overwhelmed, but eventually got through the whole thing, leaning against the roosters chest.

“I guess this weather just… got me in a thinking mood, and I didn’t know what to do with it all.” She finished, fiddling with her now empty cup.

“Ah, I know what you mean,

querida

. This weather gets me very inside my own head as well, which is why I was also walking around. I used to use my guitar to focus all of my energies, but it, uhh…”

“Uncle Scrooge broke it.” She finished, making him wince.

“

Si

.”

He shook his head to clear it, he needed to focus on Webby rather than…. that.

“It is okay to miss your

amiga

, but is not good for

niñas

to be up all night-“ They both froze as they heard a noise, quickly realising they were footsteps, but still not relaxing entirely until a familiar green face stumbled in.

“Chito.” José mumbled sleepily, his tired eyes not registering Webby for a moment. “

Sobrinha

. I did not realise you would also be here.”

“She was missing her

amiga

. She also has the… busy head.” Panchito explained, smiling down at his partner as he rested on his shoulder.

José sighed, waving a hand absently.

“Can help busy heads tomorrow. Woke up and you were missing. Come to bed,

querido

.” He half mumbled, half whined.

“

Si, mi amor

.” Panchito murmured as he kissed the top of his head. They weren’t normally so openly affectionate around the children, but they were tired, and Webby had been the least resistant of them from the start. The child in question shifted in his lap, making him look back to her.

“Can- is it- would it be alright if I stayed with you guys and Donald?” She asked quietly, making Panchito hold her tighter for a moment.

“Of course. We will all go to bed now and find good ways to focus tomorrow.” He promised.

Panchito took them all back, one arm around a sleepy José and the other arm holding Webby on his hip. They crawled into the bed carefully as to not wake Donald, the four of them lying together in a tangle of limbs.

~~~

José, Panchito, Donald, Huey and Webby all sat on the floor of an empty room, soft gentle music playing out of José’s phone. Occasionally a voice would speak over the track, instructing them on how to continue their meditation. It felt like they had been there for hours, and Panchito was starting to go a little crazy. This was too still. Too easy to get distracted. The only reason he hadn’t left was because Webby hadn’t been complaining and he was hoping it was actually helping her.

“

We have now reached the halfway point of the program, and we’re going to change positions

.” The voice said, causing two simultaneous groans of annoyance. Panchito opened his eyes with an embarrassed smile, but saw that Webby was doing the same.

“No good for you either?” He asked the girl, who shook her head.

“Not a bit.”

“

Gracias a dios

. Let’s try something else.”

~~~

Panchito looked away from the book he was reading for possibly the thousandth time, noticing Webby wasn’t reading either.

“Try again?” He asked.

“Yeah.”

~~~

“Exercising just isn’t as interesting without a threat.”

“

Sobrina

, I understand completely.”

~~~

Louie eventually just shoved what he called a ‘fidget cube’ into Webby’s hands, half heartedly complaining that he was getting tired of “all this running around”, even though they’d been doing this for less than a day. He understood though, Louie also wanted to help his

amigo

and hadn’t warmed up to him and José yet.

It had been a long day. Ironically, trying to find a way to relax his brain had made his brain quite stressed. Panchito excused himself quietly, heading back to their room in the manor, not feeling like dealing with a creaky boat. He passed Scrooge on his way, not thinking about how unusual it was for the man to be in this part of the house. He just wanted to bury his head in a pillow for a while, then have his loves come and cuddle away the stress.

He let himself fall face first into the bed, clutching the pillow close to himself. After some amount of time (he was always so terrible at guessing time), his headache has lessened some so he sat up, planning on texting José and Donald. He forgot about that as his eyes landed on the couch across the room.

There was a guitar sitting on the couch.

Curious, and his fingers

craving

the familiar and comforting chords, Panchito slipped off the bed and walked over. There was a bright red bow on it, the wood shiny and new and obviously a much better quality than anything he had owned in the past. Spying a note attached to the bow, the carefully grabbed the paper to read it.

Thank you for helping Webby, and stop sitting on my benches.

It wasn’t signed, but it didn’t need to be. Panchito knew who had left this here for him.

With an excited yell, Panchito grabbed the instrument by the neck and ran down the hallways back to the main living room where most of everyone was still gathered. His rapid running had made some of them tense, Huey and Scrooge even standing up to assess the potential threat. That just made it easier for Panchito to jump into Scrooge’s arms and throw his arms around the duck’s neck, inadvertently spinning them around.

“

¡Gracias, gracias, gracias, Tío Scrooge!

” Panchito beamed, unashamed to admit that he giggled slightly as he stepped back, holding the guitar close to his chest. “Thank you, thank you! She is so beautiful, I will take very good care of her.” He swore. Scrooge sputtered, frowning at him.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about, lad.” The older sniffed, turning away slightly. Panchito laughed again, waving a finger at him fondly.

“Ah, you cannot trick me. But if you want, I will play your little game of not caring.” He said, turning away to show his partners his new guitar.

He was already tuning it, his fingers moving across the instrument with practised precision. Plucking out a tune from their old college days, making José and Donald smile, Panchito felt more relaxed than he had in weeks. He got a small audience from the children, though Louie was pretending not to pay attention. Webby was the most attentive, watching his fingers rather than just listening to the music.

“Can we play music together some time?” Webby asked as he finished his song, her eyes wide and excited.

“

Por supuesto, cariño

, of course. Anytime.” He promised, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead.

~~~

Louie was going to die.

Ever since they’d reached the temple, the adventure had turned disastrous. Trap walls had come down, separating everyone into smaller groups. He had been with his two older brothers, when another trap wall had come down, leaving him completely alone.

He had tried searching the crazy, twisting halls, and had at some point fallen and hurt his leg. Now some weird magic stone creature was attacking him, backing him into a corner as tears of fear filled his eyes. He was gonna die and he’d never be able to see his family again. There was no one to save him.

Just before Louie closed his eyes, a rope looped around the rock things neck, jerking it backwards.

“How dare you touch our

niños

!” Panchito yelled, leaping forward to attack the creature. Louie watched José and Panchito fight it, both of them wearing helmets and holding weapons that they hadn’t had with them when they entered the temple.

The two would take turns distracting the creature, while the other would try and pry a gem out of its shoulder. They were surprisingly good at what they were doing, even more impressive than they had been against that plant thing. José eventually managed to yank the gem out, causing the rock thing to fall apart. Panchito was running towards him not a second later.

“Louie!” The rooster cried, fear written all over his face and he knelt down and pulled him into a hug, before pushing him back to check him over. “Oh, Louie, are you okay? Did it hurt you? Are your

hermanos

still with you?” He asked, and the questions finally cracked him. Louie let out a small sob, trembling in fear, clutching onto Panchito as the rooster hugged him again.

“Shh, shh,

niño

, I have you. You’re safe with us,

cariño

. José and Panchito will look after you. We will find your

hermanos

and your

Tío

Donald. Everything will be okay.” Panchito whispered, holding him tightly as he cried and running a hand through his hair. A (very small) part of Louie hated that he was finding comfort from them. He didn’t want to like them. They wanted to take his Uncle Donald. But the rest of him was so relieved to have an adult around. To have someone who could fight the monsters and promised to get him to safety. It was exactly what he needed right now.

“I’m- I’m so- I’m sorry- I’m-“ Louie stuttered, being shushed by José.

“You don’t need to apologise, Louie. It is very terrifying in here, and you are still a

menino

. We stay here until you calm down, and then we continue to find our way out.” The parrot told him, handing him a canteen. Louie nodded, taking a small drink of water. He knew he couldn’t waste it when they didn’t know how long they would be here.

It was a few minutes before Louie managed to get his breathing under control again, not really wanting to release Panchito from his hug.

“I’m okay, I think. Let’s keep going, I hate it in here.” He said quietly, getting nods from the two adults. José kept hold of the gem he’d taken from the creature, glancing at it every so often.

“Wh- what are you doing with that?” He asked quietly, hating that his voice was still shaking.

“It will warn us of other magical dangers approaching, so that we can either try to avoid them, or keep you safe in case of a fight.” José answered, looking over and giving him a comforting smile. “We’ll look after you,

menino

. You’re our

família

.” He promised, stunning Louie. They considered him family? Even after he’d spent all this time trying to ignore their very existence? Sure, they were nice to him and his siblings (more than nice, really, pretty amazing), but wasn’t that just because they wanted Uncle Donald to keep them around?

These questions and more raced through his mind, occasionally clutching tighter to Panchito when he heard a noise. The gem glowed after a while, but there was nowhere to go but towards the danger. Panchito placed him down just before they turned a corner, making Louie’s beak tremble.

“I know you’re scared, but you’re being so brave. I’m so proud of you. I need you to stay here, okay? We’ll come back and get you when it’s safe. We promise.” The rooster whispered, cupping his face for a moment. José handed him the gem from the other creature.

“So you can keep yourself safe while we fight them.”

Louie nodded, and with that they headed off, spear and curved sword drawn. He kept his back against the wall, trying to keep his breathing even as he listened to the wild fighting happening just around the corner. He didn’t like being apart from them. What if another trap wall separated them? What if there was some way he could help but he was too busy being scared to do anything? A large crash sounded, making him whimper. Then there was silence for just too long a moment, Louie’s heart clenching in his chest-

“Louie? Are you still there?” José called, making the duck sigh in relief.

“Y- yeah, I’m here!” He called back, wrapping his arms around himself. Footsteps started coming towards him, one of them coming to get him like they said.

“

Merda!

” José yelled, the footsteps now running. Louie tensed, fear keeping him in place until José tackled Panchito back around to Louie’s side, the wall slamming shut behind him not a second later.

“Guys!” Louie yelped, running forward to see if they were okay. It hurt to run on his sore leg, but he didn’t care.

“José! Panchito!” He half sobbed as he skidded to a halt beside them, grabbing their arms. Panchito groaned, taking Louie’s hand.

“

Ay caramba

.” He muttered, patting José on the back. The parrot slowly sat up, breathing heavily.

“

Ay caramba

, indeed, my friend.” He said back, unable to help a smile.

“Are you guys okay?” Louie asked in a small voice, getting nods in reply as Panchito sat up as well.

“

Si, si

. We’re fi- aww. We left our weapons on that side.” The rooster pouted, letting out a long sigh before standing and picking Louie up back into his arms. “Are you alright,

niño

? You didn’t get hurt?” He asked, Louie shaking his head no. José was holding a small black case, his grip around it tight.

“Louie, what do you think of magic?” José asked, his voice low.

“Magic?” Louie asked, frowning slightly.

“I know your

Tio

Scrooge does not like or trust it, but what are your thoughts.”

Louie shrugged, not liking that he couldn’t read José’s face.

“I mean- I’ve seen it do good and bad. Just depends on the person using it.” He answered, pulling his hand into his sleeve (his pocket being hard to reach). José nodded, letting out a long breath.

“Do you think I am the type of person who would use good magic?” The parrot asked lowly. The young duck blinked, processing the information. José was magic? He’d been magic this whole time?

“Does Uncle Donald know?” He asked.

“

Sim

, yes. Donal’ has always known.” José answered. Louie nodded at that, relaxing his grip on Panchito.

“Then yes. I trust you to do magic.” He said, watching as the parrot opened the case and pulled out… a cigar?

“Are you sure about this,

novio

?” Panchito asked, his eyes full of worry. “Your magic-“

“Will protect

nossa família

.” José replied firmly, lighting the cigar and taking a pull.

Louie stared at him, watching him take another few drags, not sure what was going on, until the smoke started moving. It formed the likeness of a chain, wrapping around first José’s, then Panchito’s and his own wrist.

“That will keep us together, so the walls cannot separate us.” José explained. A few more minutes of puffing and the three of them were surrounded by a bubble of smoke. “To protect us from any more magical dangers.”

José took Panchito’s free hand and started leading them through the hallways. The smoke magic was able to keep them hidden from most of the weird creatures, and José could send out distractions to the ones that could see them. Louie didn’t really know what to think of this magic. He’d never seen anything quite like this before. But José was protecting them, and really, what else could he ask for?

It felt like hours, maybe it was hours, but eventually they found a large room that seemed to be the centre of the temple, where Uncle Scrooge was arguing with whoever or whatever controlled it, Webby by his side. José let the shield drop, shocking them both.

“What in- magic? You use

magic

?!” Scrooge yelled to an unmoved José.

“

Sim

, and it just saved your nephew. Any word from the others?”

“Not yet.” Webby answered, her hands tugging on the hem of her shirt. “The Labyrinth Master says we need help from a god to escape. Uncle Scrooge is arguing with him.”

José and Panchito looked at each other, Panchito gasping after a moment and grabbing the parrots shoulder.

“No! No, José, it’s too dangerous! You’ve already been using your magic for- for a very long time! There’s no certainty that she’s there, anyway, you know this.”

“I have to try! They’re all stuck somewhere in that maze with no protection! You can’t expect me to just stand around and wait when I can help!”

“It’s

dangerous

!”

“So is just waiting!”

“I-“ Panchito choked, blinking rapidly to try and get rid of tears. “

No puedo perder a todos ustedes.

” He whispered.

Louie had no idea what Panchito has just said, but both José and Scrooge has stiffened. José relaxed first, cupping the roosters face.

“

Usted no lo hará. Regresaré a ti

.” He whispered back. Louie looked between the two of them, then over to Scrooge and Webby.

“What’s going on?” He asked, his voice strained. José cupped his cheek now, stroking a thumb over the soft face feathers.

“I am going to send my Self out of my body to send a message. Get us all out of here.”

“And it’s dangerous?” Louie continued to question.

“Yes, Louie. It’s dangerous. All magic has some level of danger, but this…”

Louie sniffled, looking away to try and hide the tears in his eyes. He didn’t want José in danger, but he didn’t want his family to be lost forever either.

“You gotta come back, okay?” He whimpered, burying his head in Panchito’s neck as the rooster pulled him closer.

“I promise,

meu garoto

.” He murmured, before kissing Panchito and sitting down on the ground.

Panchito took a few steps back as smoke started to spread around José, glanced down at Louie, then headed towards Scrooge instead.

“I need you to stay with your

Tío

while this is happening. I am going to need to give Xandra something to target. I don’t want you in between two such kinds of magic.” He sighed, preparing to lower him to the ground.

“What?! No! Panchito, please!” Louie begged, not at all prepared for both of them to be in danger. Scrooge held him back, and he watched in despair as Panchito stood a few feet from José, closed his eyes, and slowly started glowing red.

“No! Stop! What are you doing?!” Louie cried, tears falling down his face as he was unheard. The seconds seemed to stretch on for lifetimes, making Louie more and more panicked. He struggled against Scrooge’s hold until Webby placed a hand on his arm, making him stop. Scrooge was one thing, who was so untrusting of magic, but Webby was usually level headed in these situations.

After a period of time that was way,

way

too long, there was a flash of light, a tall woman standing there holding an open book. The smoke dissipated around José, leaving the parrot coughing and shaking. Louie finally wrenched himself out of Scrooge’s grip, running over to him, ignoring the pain in his leg.

“Are you okay? Can I help? What do I need to do?” He asked as Panchito also kneeled down, still glowing red.

“

Sim, sim.

I’m fine,

menino

. Just tired. Nothing to worry about.”

“Are you sure?” The woman asked, José nodding.

“The others, they are still lost.” Panchito spoke, not leaving the parrots side. The woman nodded, closing the book and handing it to the rooster.

“I won’t be long.” She promised, heading into the labyrinth. Angry footsteps came towards them from behind, Panchito rubbing a hand over his face.

“Not now, Scrooge. Later. When everyone is safe.”

“That’s not good enough!” Scrooge snapped, making Louie bury his head in José’s shoulder.

“It will have to be.” Panchito said coldly, before ignoring him completely. “

Cariño

, here, drink some water. You can sleep soon, I promise.” He murmured, handing José their canteen. José leaned into Panchito’s side, obviously exhausted, but still wrapped an arm around Louie to comfort the young boy. Webby came to join them, sitting at Panchito’s other side, absently tapping her hands against her knees.

The time passed much quicker with all of them safe, and soon enough the woman was coming back with Launchpad, Uncle Donald and his brothers in tow. Huey has José’s umbrella, which had obviously been lost somewhere, while Uncle Donald… Uncle Donald was glowing blue, wearing a helmet and holding a sword. The blue matched Panchito’s red, the helmet and sword matching the ones the other two caballeros had been using.

“Louie, Webby!” Uncle Donald called, rushing forward to pull them both into a hug. “Thank goodness you kids are alright.” He breathed, before releasing them to cup José’s cheek. “You holding up? Xandra told me what you did.”

“

Sim

, I am fine, Donal’.”

“Good. Now;

what on earth were you thinking you reckless idiot?!

Projecting yourself all the way to

New Quackmore!

That’s a continent and a half away!”

The woman, Xandra apparently, started laughing.

“He’s reckless? You were trying to fight off five magic beasts by yourself when I found you!” She countered, her hand coming to cover her face as she continued to laugh. Donald started grumbling, the beginnings of an outburst not far off. José stopped it by reaching out and cupping Donald’s cheek.

“

Sinto muito, meu amor

.” He murmured, making Donald sigh.

“I know.”

“Can we get out of here please?” Louie asked, the Caballeros nodding.

“Xandra?” Panchito asked, looking up at her.

“I can’t portal you to your plane, but I can lead you all out of here safely without running into anything dangerous. Probably.”

“And if we do run into something dangerous.” Huey asked, still clutching the umbrella.

“Well, they’re not the Caballeros for nothing.” Xandra grinned, placing a hand on her hip as if that explained anything.

“The Caballeros are a

band!

” Louie half yelled, starting to panic again.

Uncle Donald grabbed his shoulder, looking him in the eyes.

“Have I ever let you down?” He asked, calming Louie down, because the answer was no. Donald Duck had never let him down. Uncle Donald smiled and nodded. “Then let's go.”

~~~

Louie had never been more thankful to be on the Sunchaser, going with Huey towards the spare rations they kept on the plane.

“Is everyone okay?” José asked, glowing green from where he’d joined Panchito and Uncle Donald in a fight.

“Yeah, everyone’s good.” Webby answered. José nodded, and then collapsed. Donald easily caught him, but Louie still dropped what he was holding in a panic.

Panchito came and picked Louie up before the boy could run over.

“He’s okay, he just needs to rest.” Xandra said, taking him from Donald to move him to a seat and strap him in. Louie tugged on Panchito’s shirt, the rooster complying and walking them over to sit in the seat next to him. Uncle Donald kneeled in front of them with a first aid kit, finally having a chance to look at his leg.

They all ate and drank, then Launchpad took off and they were on their way back to the US and Duckburg. Louie started falling asleep against Panchito’s chest, partly because he knew Uncle Scrooge wouldn’t start an argument with him still there, but mostly because he just didn’t want to leave. José and Panchito has risked their lives for him, not to mention Scrooge’s anger.

“Thank you for looking after my boys.” Donald sighed from beside them, Panchito’s chest rumbling with a chuckle.

“Ah,

mi amor

, you do not need to thank us. They are our boys too. And our girl.” He said easily, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. There was a quiet sound, which Louie realised was Donald kissing the rooster. Instead of the fear or the anger that had previously filled him when he caught any of them sharing affection, there was only warmth and relief.

Panchito and José weren’t going to take his Uncle Donald, and they weren’t going to leave him either.

~~~

Watching Panchito and José greet Gladstone and Fethry was… weird.

Dewey hadn’t thought they would know each other, but they all greeted each other like old friends. Even Uncle Donald seemed to get along with his cousins better with the protective barrier of his partners there to warn the cousins when their goading was getting a bit too personal or their invasion of personal space was getting a little too suffocating. They were also able to tease the two right back, Fethry was even able to chatter with Panchito in Spanish.

As interesting and weird as it was, watching people talk did eventually get boring, except there was

nothing else to do

. Just before the two cousins had arrived a huge storm had started, causing a town wide blackout only a few minutes in. Including the manor.

Dewey was going to die of boredom.

Just for something to do, he rolled off the couch, gaining the attention of Uncle Donald and José. He gave them a thumbs up to show he was okay, after which they had a conversation in Portuguese that he had no chance at keeping up with. With a grin, Uncle Donald grabbed Fethry’s hand and one of the lanterns they were using to light the place, disappearing down a hall.

“Tio José, what was that about?” Louie asked, barely shifting from his position but curious enough to ask.

“Your

Tio’s

are going to set something up for us to do. Rainy day things.” He answered, making Dewey groan.

“Rainy day activities are

boring

. There’s nothing

interesting

to do.” He pouted, getting frustrated with being cooped up all day.

José hummed, seemingly conceding his point.

“Maybe. But what if these activities could help you get an edge on those ‘snobby rich drama kids’ you were telling your

Tio

Donald about?” He proposed, making Dewey lift his head off the ground.

“I’m listening.” He said, pouting again as José chuckled.

“Not just yet,

menino

.”

Dewey turned to Webby who shrugged.

“My Portuguese is still rusty, and they were speaking too fast for me.” She said simply. Dewey sighed, which made Huey throw a cushion at him. Dewey threw it back, missing him and hitting Louie. The green clad triplet took his turn to sigh and turned towards the adults, putting on his big eyes.

“

Tío

Chito, what are they planning for us?”

Panchito froze, staring at Louie’s face.

“He’s so cute.” He whispered, grabbing José’s arm.

“You can resist him. For Donal’.” The parrot whispered back, making the kids giggle.

“

Por favor, Tío Chito

.” Louie asked again, blinking once, twice, three times. The rooster made a noise in the back of his throat before caving.

“They are going to go set up the old dancing room with your

Tio

Scrooge’s record player.” He confessed in a rush, pulling his sombrero down over his face. “

Ay caramba

, these kids make me weak.” He sighed, allowing himself to fall back into José’s arms.

José laughed, pulling the large hat up to press a kiss to his cheek.

“Come on, let’s go meet them, huh? No use keeping the surprise now.” He grinned, pushing the rooster up. Panchito grinned in return, holding his arms out to the kids, to which Louie and Webby eagerly climbed up into. José offered his hands to the remaining two kids, raising an eyebrow at Dewey. He slowly stood and hesitatingly took it, smiling as the parrot gently squeezed.

Huey, ever the fair brother, smiled at José but went and took Gladstone’s arm, tugging him along behind the rest of the group. Panchito led them with ease through the manor until they could hear Uncle Donald’s distinctive laughter.

“

¡Hola!

” Panchito called, making Fethry stick his head out the door.

“Hola! I thought this was a surprise?” The scientist asked, tilting his head to the side.

“

Sim

, but someone can not resist big, cute duckling eyes.” José teased, making the rooster huff.

“Let’s see how well you are doing when they turn them on you.”

The parrot laughed, tugging Dewey into the room. Uncle Donald was by the record player, the kind Dewey had so far only seen in movies.

“Pretty good timing, actually. You’ll never guess what record I just found.” Donald grinned, placing the huge black disc on the player, moving something onto it, and music starting to play.

José would never be as loud as Panchito (since he was a rooster) but the noise the parrot made was the loudest Dewey had ever heard him make. He tugged on his hand, pulling him into a different position.

“I teach you how to

samba

,

meu pequeno pássaro

. Then you show those

pirralhos

who’s who,

sim

?” He beamed, his feathers ruffling in excitement already. Dewey felt a little lost with all that Portuguese, so he glanced over to his siblings who were miming and mouthing the word

dance

, looking back up at José and smiling.

“Sure!”

José was a great teacher, and Dewey was able to pick up the steps before even half the song was over, laughing as the parrot sang along to the words happily. He switched to English out of nowhere, singing to Dewey while holding out a hand to him.

“

Have you been to Bahia, Dewey? No? Let’s go! Once you’ve been to Bahia, my friend, you’ll never return!

”

Dewey laughed, taking the hand and letting José lead him around the room. He was quick to pick up on the more complicated moves he was shown, beaming at Uncle Scrooge as the noise attracted the duck. Fethry looped his arms around the older ducks neck, tugging him into the room. Relenting with no fight at all, Scrooge danced with the budding scientist, the two of them twisting around and around with a practised ease. Gladstone was dancing with Webby, Huey with Uncle Donald, and Louie with Panchito. Lanterns and candles lit the room, the music and laughter and singing drowning out the noises of the storm.

Uncle Donald would change the record every so often, putting on different types of music, and Dewey was passed from adult to adult to learn different types of dancing. Waltzing from Gladstone, lindy hop from Uncle Scrooge and Fenton, Uncle Donald was somehow proficient in all of the styles of dancing the others were good at. Dewey’s favourites were with Panchito and José, though. He learnt that Panchito’s favourite dance was called

jarabe pateo

, that he was also excellent at another dance called

lilongo

, and of course the

samba

with José.

Performing had always been one of Dewey’s specialties. Anything that could put him in the spotlight, he was all over. He’d taken dance classes for about a year and a half before Uncle Donald had stopped being able to afford them. He hadn’t complained, but he had missed them. This was even better, even more fun with way more types of dance to add to his skill set.

Dewey was actually disappointed when everyone stopped dancing for the day, the lights of the mansion flickering back on, Mrs Beakly getting dinner ready.

José placed a hand on his shoulder as the others filed out of the room, Louie clinging onto the parrots back.

“I can keep teaching you, if you like. Not just when we have rainy day.” He offered, a warm smile on his face. Dewey beamed back, already excited.

“That would be awesome!” He wrapped his arms around his middle in a quick hug. “Thanks José.”

~~~

“Two threes.”
 
“Bullshit!”

Panchito groaned, flipping his cards to reveal he’d been lying, then taking the pile. Donald smiled smugly, three of the three cards in his hand.

“Better luck next time, Panchi.” He teased, kicking his feet up into the roosters lap comfortably. Panchito rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue, shuffling the cards around in his hands.

The kids were all having a movie night in the mansion. Gladstone and Fethry were still around, so with them, Mrs B, Scrooge and Duckworth, Donald trusted they would have enough supervision while the three of them had a low key date night. They’d splurged on some nice Italian take out, lit some candles while they ate, and now they were playing card games while music played from a speaker.

“Can we switch to threesies? I’m so much better at that.” Panchito pouted, making Donald chuckle.

“In a bit. I promise.” He smiled, blushing as the rooster melted a little under his soft tone.

“First we have to destroy you at bullshit.” José cut in, causing the two of them to burst into laughter. Donald took a swig from his drink, already feeling tipsy on his second drink.

“If you wanted to play something a little different later, my sister sent me some games my

sobrinhos

got their hands on but are too young for. Cards against Fauna and such things.” José offered, placing down his cards. “Two sevens.”

“One eight.” Donald countered, actually placing a nine. Panchito turned to glare at him, making him start giggling helplessly.

“You know I have all the eights. You are just trying to make me feel better about losing so bad!” He accused, Donald shaking his head even as he continued to laugh, giving himself away.

Panchito pushed Donald’s feet off his lap, causing the duck to slip to the floor.

“Aww, Panchi.” He whined, though still giggling. Panchito snorted.

“How’d you get so bad at holding your drink?” He asked, sharing an amused look with José. Donald hummed, leaning his head on the roosters lap.

“I stopped drinking after the boys came around. Couldn’t afford to with them needing to be looked after.” He confessed, smiling as he felt a hand caress his hair.

“Ah,

meu bem

, your heart is so big.” José sighed, opening another drink and placing it in Donald’s place. “But you do not have to look after the

crianças

tonight. Let us look after you.” Donald blushed, rubbing a hand over his face.

“You fellas are too good to me.” He muttered, letting Panchito help him back into his seat.

“Nonsense,

cariño

, nothing is too good for you.” The rooster answered easily, picking up his cards again.

“Three nines.”

They got bored of the game eventually, switching to threesies for Panchito for a while, and then into terrible drunk karaoke with the phone and the speaker they were using. After that, José put on a playlist of his favourite songs, taking Donald into his arms and the two of them just swaying to the music.

“You remember the first time we danced, Donal’?” The parrot teased, the duck laughing into his shoulder.

“The first time you spun me, or the first time we danced to pop music at one of those college parties?” He asked, Panchito laughing behind him. “Because if you meant the parties, absolutely, I had a huge gay panic the next morning once the alcohol had worn off.” It was José’s turn to laugh, pressing a kiss to Donald’s temple.

“I believe it was one of Mickey’s parties, was it not?” Panchito added, standing at Donald’s back and joining their gentle swaying.

“

Sim

, the one where Minnie hooked up with, uh, that tall mouse. The

babaca

.”

Donald snorted, thinking that was an understatement for a guy like Mortimer. It got him thinking though. He hadn’t seen his old friends in years. For longer than he’d seen the other caballeros before they’d come back. He’d thought about them, of course. Whenever he took the boys to see Mickey or Minnie’s latest movie, whenever he made an online order at Goofy’s store, whenever Huey brought up maybe attending the New Quackmore Institute when he was older.

Donald hadn’t been alone these last ten years, but having his boyfriends back in his life the last few months had sort of made him realise that he had been

lonely

. Not when it came to his boys, but friends, people his own age he could just sit down and

be

with.

Donald missed his friends.

“Thank god she came to her senses soon enough, yeah?” Was all he said for now, pressing in closer to his lovers. They held him tighter, still swaying in step, Panchito humming under his breath as the three of them just soaked in each other’s company.

He was so lucky they’d come back to him.

~~~

Donald stared down at his phone, anxiety rolling through his chest and stomach. He hadn’t spoken to them for ten years, hadn’t seen them for longer. They had been best friends since they were kids, but did he still deserve that title? Were they even still friends at all?

There was only one way to find out.

He tapped around on his phone, logging into his old Waddlebook that he hadn’t used in years. He hoped Mickey still had that private account that he used to talk to his friends, and to his immense relief, when he clicked onto messages, it said Mickey had been active just an hour ago.

He had to search a bit to find the old group chat, and to stall, Donald went back and read every single message that he’d missed. After passing an hour that way, he clicked the message bubble, his hands shaking slightly as he typed.

Donald Duck
: Hey fellas, it’s been a while hasn’t it??

For five agonising minutes, there was nothing, just Donald staring at a message board that wasn’t updating.

Then a reply.

Minnie Mouse:
Donnie!!! Oh my goodness, it’s so good to hear from you!
 
Daisy Duck:
I knew you were alive, but I’m cross that you spoke to Xandra and not me.
 
Donald Duck:
Sorry, toots. I’ve not been thinking straight for a while.
 
Daisy Duck
: You’ve never thought straight in your life.
 
Donald Duck
: WOW
 
Donald Duck:
But also
 
Donald Duck:
TRUE
 
Goofy Goof
: DONALD!!!!! I’ve missed you so much buddy!!!! How are the kids??? How’s the boat???
 
Donald Duck:
Aw phooey, I missed you too! All of you! I really can’t believe I let myself stay apart for so long…
 
Minnie Mouse:
Aw, honey, everyone deals with grief in their own way. There’s no time limit on it either. We understand <3
 
Donald Duck
: Min you’re gonna make me cry D’:
 
Donald Duck
: And Goof, the kids are great, the boat falls apart every other month, but I’ve gotten really good at fixing it up!
 
Minnie Mouse
: You don’t need to worry about crying around us! I mean, Mickey’s crying right now.
 
Mickey Mouse
: MINNIE
 
Donald Duck:
YOURE CRYING FUCK WHAT DO I DO
 
Mickey Mouse:
Fine, Yes, I’m crying :(
 
Mickey Mouse:
I just… I can’t believe you’re actually talking to us again. I’ve missed you so much, pal.
 
Mickey Mouse
: I know you had your reasons and I don’t blame you, it’s just,
 
Mickey Mouse
: It’s really you.
 
Donald Duck:
YOU MEAN I GOTTA BEAT MYSELF UP ??????
 
Mickey Mouse
: STOP BEATING PEOPLE UP FOR ME
 
Donald Duck:
NO!!!!!!!
 
Goofy Goof
: You know hes always gonna protect his family mick
 
Minnie Mouse:
He’s crying more now but it’s good crying
 
Minnie Mouse:
I might also be crying
 
Donald Duck:
that’s it I’m crying I have to go hide before my kids find me
 
Daisy Duck:
oh boy I need to cry but my makeup was $48
 
Donald Duck
: djksodosodoa DAISY
 
Donald Duck
: ARE YOU REALLY QUOTING A VINE  
 
Daisy Duck
: I’ve never heard of vine in my life also this bitch is empty YEET
 
Donald Duck
: so the girls gotcha, huh?
 
Daisy Duck
: oh, yeah, big time
 
Mickey Mouse
: So. Since we’re all talking again.
 
Donald Duck:
you wanna throw a party
 
Mickey Mouse:
We should celebrate!!!
 
Mickey Mouse:
:(
 
Mickey Mouse:
am I that predictable??
 
Donald Duck
: only to your best pals
 
Mickey Mouse:
STOP MAKING ME CR Y DONNIE
 
Mickey Mouse:
omg I really have my best friend back
 
Donald Duck
: I’m down for everything except Idaho.
 
Donald Duck
: no offence to potato-land Goofy
 
Goofy Goof:
:P
 
Mickey Mouse
: Maybe we can see if the cabs can come up!!
 
Donald Duck:
oh, yeah, they’re already ……… here……..
 
Mickey Mouse
: JOSE AND PANCHITO ARE HERE?!!!!
 
Donald Duck
: Yeah. José organised a trip for us and my kids, and they came back with us after we almost got eaten by a carnivorous plant.
 
Donald Duck:
It was being with them again that made me realise just how much I was missing you guys by trying to be an independent parent for the kids.
 
Donald Duck:
I’m really sorry, fellas. I shouldn’t have cut myself off like that. I really didn’t know what to do with myself after I lost Della, and I was so busy with the boys everything else just…
 
Mickey Mouse:
I don’t wanna hear any apologies, Don. Like Minnie said earlier, we understand. You don’t need to apologise to us.
 
Donald Duck
: ¡Hola! It’s Panchito, Donald will be back very soon, but is right now crying. He is very relieved that you are still speaking to him :D
 
Minnie Mouse:
Look after our boy for us, Panchito.
 
Donald Duck
: When have I not, ey? ;)
 
Daisy Duck:
so we’re just gonna not talk about the people eating plant?? Sure, okay.

~~~

They had to work around Mickey and Minnie’s filming schedules, but they managed to find a date for about a month away. He told the kids they were taking them to Mousetown, while he told Scrooge and Mrs B the specifics. Dewey got excited, knowing that the Mouse’s would be in town at the same time as them, trying to convince Huey to help him organise some way that he might be able to meet them.

Donald grinned, sending a short video of the scene to his friends. Mickey was instantly trying to think of ways to trick Dewey, the kids throwing him odd looks whenever he would laugh at his phone.

It was going to be a long month until he saw them again.

~~~

Donald got both more excited and nervous as the date drew ever and ever closer. Changing from three hour long chat sprees with the gang to hiding in the smallest corner of the houseboat until José or Panchito found him and talked him down from his anxiety attack. Ten years was a long time to not see someone. While Pan and Źe had been physically here to assure him that he was still wanted, all he had to go by for the rest of his friends were words on a screen, which could be misinterpreted in any number of ways.

He’d gone back to the houseboat more often, rather than the comfortable place they’d built themselves in the mansion. Donald didn’t want to worry the kids with the way he was behaving. They were still slightly worried, but only because they didn’t know what was wrong. They chalked it up to him being between jobs for now.

~~~

It was finally the day.

Donald held his partners hands tightly in the back of the limo, equal parts anxious and excited. The kids still didn’t know what exactly they were doing in Mousetown, and he was too nervous to tell them even if he wasn’t keeping it a surprise. The whole gang was going to be there, including Max and his honorary nieces (Daisy’s actual nieces).

José pressed a kiss to his hand as Launchpad came to a stop, for once not crashing into anything. They let the others pile out of the car first before José turned to him.

“It’s going to be fine,

meu amor

. Better than fine! Your friends love you, they would not let you come all this way if they did not.” He assured. Donald nodded, finally stepping out.

He led the way to the side fence that led around to the backyard, where everyone would already be gathered, their limo getting caught in traffic even with LP driving. Panchito and José were by his side, one step behind him as he opened the gate and walked in, followed then by the kids, and then the other three adults.

Turning the corner of the house and actually seeing everyone gathered, Donald froze. They were all actually here. He’d helped organize this whole thing, he had been talking to them for weeks on end, but even with that… there was no guarantee behind a phone screen.

But they were here

. His best friends were really

here

to see

him

, after all this time.

Max finished a skateboard trick, turning back around to see what people thought, catching sight of him and everyone else standing in the corner.

“Uncle Donald, you made it!” The dog boy called, making everyone else turn around too. Mickey’s jaw dropped, as if he was having the same thought process that Donald himself was. Goofy was staring too, his eyes wide, and Donald… he didn’t know what to do.

He felt rather than saw the look Panchito and José shared over his shoulders, when suddenly two hands shoved his back, sending him stumbling. A panicked quack left his mouth, which quickly turned to laughter, his stumbles to strides, his arms thrown out wide.

“Fellas!” He yelled happily, already feeling tears fill his eyes.

“Pal!” Mickey called back, running to meet him. Goofy was two steps behind, his ever broken shoes flopping against the grass of Mickey’s backyard.

Mickey met with him first, throwing himself into Donald’s arms, both of them laughing and crying as they spun around and clung to each other. Goofy was there just a second later, scooping them both up in his arms and joining in on both the laughing and crying. The trio just held each other for a while, until an impatient throat clearing was heard.

Donald opened his eyes to look down at Daisy, laughing anew.

“Hiya, toots!” He beamed, holding out his arms as Goofy let him go. Daisy smiled, meeting him for a hug, but stepping back slightly upon hearing a sniffle. Donald looked in the sounds direction, seeing Minnie just out of reach, starting his own crying again.

“Aw, get over here, you.” He invited easily, wrapping an arm around her and Daisy both.

He was joined again by Mickey and Goofy, all five of them clinging to each other in a giant hug. Behind them, Panchito let out a yell, running past as he obviously spotted the girls in the back.

“

¡Mis sobrinas!

” The rooster yelled happily, tugging all three of them into a hug at the same time. The five of them broke apart with one last laugh, Donald wiping his eyes as he went to join his boyfriend and greet the girls.

José and himself hugged them one at a time, all of them teasing how they’d caught his emotional display on video.

“Good, I want a copy.” He replied, laughing at their half annoyed, half fond sighs.

“It’s not as fun if you’re happy about it.” May said, but pulled him into another hug. “I’m glad you’re okay. I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, kid.” Donald murmured. She rolled her eyes at the nickname, only eight years younger than Donald and a fully grown adult in her own right, but allowed it for now.

Max was standing off to the side, fiddling with his skateboarding gloves nervously.

“Um. Hey uncl- I- um- Donald.” He stuttered. Ignoring his boyfriends and his uncle greeting everybody, Donald walked over and ruffled Max’s hair.

“You can still call me Uncle if you want.” He reassured, moving the hand down to the teenagers shoulder. “Unless you feel you’re too old for it now, Maxie.”

He was knocked back a step by the force of the dog’s hug, but hugged him back just as tight.

“Naw, I’ll never be too old to call you that, Uncle Donald.” He laughed softly, burying his face into the ducks shoulder. Donald sighed softly, rubbing his back.

“I’m sorry I disappeared on you, kiddo. I should’ve called or something.” He murmured, the boy shaking his head.

“No, no, it’s okay. I- I still remember the feeling from when mum- and I still- dad still. So it’s. I get it. I’m just happy you’re back now.” Max answered, pulling back with a huge smile. Donald had to wipe his eyes again, cupping the teens cheek for a moment.

“You’re a good kid, Maxie. Don’t let anyone tell ya different.” He said, Max making the same embarrassed noise Goofy did.

With one last squeeze, Donald turned, planning on introducing everyone to his kids, but was suddenly floored by a familiar jumping tune.

“Ari?” He questioned, looking around for the small red bird. Ari popped up behind Daisy’s shoulder, then ran across the lawn to him, chattering away.

“Ari!” He grinned, kneeling down to hug the old caretaker. His boyfriends were already making their way over, each talking excitedly in their own languages to the little bird, Panchito taking him in the end and letting him sit in his sombrero, only to vanish. He looked over to Daisy with a grin, not having expected him to be here.

“Did you know he’d come along for a ride?” He asked, leaning an arm on her shoulder. She rolled her eyes, but let him do so in her good mood.

“Well, I wasn’t going to say no to him when he found out I was leaving to meet you three.” She sniffed, turning her face up. Donald chuckled and leaned over to kiss her cheek.

“Thanks, Daisy.” He murmured, finally turning his attention back to his kids.

“Everyone!” He called, getting their attention. “This is Huey, Dewey, Louie and Webby, my kids. Mrs Beakly is Webby’s grandmother and Launchpad is… well, he’s part of the family too.”

“Okay, okay, sorry Uncle Donald but…” Dewey gestured around helplessly. “How do you know

Mickey and Minnie Mouse?!

” He asked, looking a little overwhelmed. “They’re like, the most famous actors in the world!”

Mickey gave a quick laugh, blushing.

“Aw, shucks, pal.” He grinned, turning towards Donald and ignoring the way Panchito burst into laughter at the expression. “Your uncle and I have been friends for, well, as long as I can remember.” He answered, Donald smiling brightly in return. Huey looked like he was itching to raise his hand, so Donald beat him to the punch, bringing Daisy over.

“Huey, this is Dai-“

“Oh my gosh, you’re Daisy Duck! Head of the New Quackmore Institute! You revolutionised the University to make it more inclusive and added five whole new departments! It’s a total honour to meet you, Ms Duck!” The boy gushed, shaking the hand she held out. Daisy beamed, beyond pleased someone recognised her hard work.

“You’ve done your research, young man. Are you planning on joining us one day?”

“I was hoping too, Ms Duck! I haven’t quite decided what exactly I’m going to do, there’s just so many interesting subjects to consider.”

“Of course, of course. Maybe we could organise for you to have a tour of the institute, hm?”

Huey turned to Donald, grabbing onto his arm, his eyes sparkling.

“Uncle Donald, could I please?! Please, please, please?!” He asked, bouncing on his toes.

“Of course. I could even show you where Źe, Panch and I met.” Donald answered, chuckling as Huey squealed excitedly and hugged him tightly. Louie was looking up at him with a slight frown.

“So, you just happen to know some of the most famous actors in the world,

and

the head of one of the best colleges in the country?” Louie questioned, crossing his arms.

“And the best bookstore owner in Spoonerville.” Donald added, ruffling the kids hair.

“You do?” Goofy asked, a confused look on his face. Donald smiled in fond amusement as he turned towards him.

“I meant you, big guy.” He said, chuckling at the familiar reply to such a sappy remark.

“Aw hyuck! You don’t gotta say that.” Goofy blushed, laughing as Donald came over and punched his arm softly.

“I do if it’s true.” He teased, beaming as Goofy laughed more.

Minnie came over and took Donald’s arm, dragging him over to a picnic table piled with food.

“Oh, I hope your tastes haven’t changed too much. I made your old favourite cookies, peanut butter with chocolate chunks.” She smiled nervously, Donald kissing her on the cheek in response.

“Min, you are the

absolute best

. What have I been doing without you?” He said, grinning as she laughed.

~~~

“Oh, remember when you tried to make Donal’ jealous with that man? What was his name? Mr Fancy?” José asked, getting laughs from the table.

“Mr Fancy! Oh my god, I’m never gonna call him anything else now.” Donald choked out, leaning against the table with one arm.

“Dapper. Dapper Duck was his name. He was an asshole. I can’t believe I convinced myself I liked him.” Daisy sighed, rolling her eyes at herself. “It should’ve been so obvious to me that I was a lesbian.” She winked at Minnie, who snorted a short laugh.

“Daze! You’re gonna make Mickey sad.” Minnie teased, wrapping an arm around him. Daisy waved a hand dismissively.

“Mickey has Donald.” She replied.

“

Donald

already has two boyfriends.” Donald stressed, leaning against the mouse anyway.

“So?” April said, smiling sweetly.

“Gee Donald, how come your uncle let’s you have three boyfriends?” June continued, making all of the kids and Panchito laugh. Donald rolled his eyes, but couldn’t stop smiling.

“Minnie, if you’re also in love with Daisy, I’m totally okay with that.” Mickey said, trying to act serious but the corners of his mouth twitching up ruining the effect.

“Donaldo, Mickey is the only other person we would ever want you to also be in a relationship with.” Panchito added, not even trying to hide his teasing tone. Donald huffed, slamming a fist on the table.

“And what about poor Goofy?! We’re just gonna leave him outta this love fest, huh?” Donald fake ranted, winking at the dog so he would be sure they were joking.

“Aw, I wouldn’t be left out! That’s what I got Mickey for!” Goofy was able to stay straight faced for a whole second before bursting into laughter with an “Ah hyuck!”

The rest of them joined in, giggling madly amongst each other.

“Mickey, is this one of the things your PR team might not be happy about?” June asked, gesturing to where her phone was recording. Mickey froze for a second, glanced at Minnie, and then started laughing again.

“Aw, jeez. I totally forgot about you recording for your YouTube channel.” He wheezed, almost choking for air. After he calmed down, he looked back up at June, still with a dopey smile on his face. “Yeah, maybe cut this part.”

“Hey, Uncle Donald, is it okay if I teach these ones some skating tricks?” Max asked, standing from the table and flipping the skateboard into his hands.

“Have you got safety head they can use?”

“Yeah, I got some spares in the back of Dad’s car.”

“Then sure. Just be careful you four, okay?” He raised an eyebrow at them, all four kids beaming.

“Yes, Uncle Donald.” They replied on instinct, Webby not even seeming to realise it was the first time she had called him that. He held onto Panchito’s arm for a moment, hiding his grin in the roosters shoulder.

With the food having been eaten, they broke up into smaller groups to mingle and talk. Launchpad and Goofy were getting on famously. Daisy, Minnie and Scrooge were talking business. The kids were all playing together. April, May, June, Panchito and José were catching up. That left just Mickey and Donald sitting together, sharing drinks and desserts, laughing and telling stories from the last ten years, while also taking moments to quietly watch their large, mismatched family interact.

“And I was so fucking paranoid after Della left, I once took the boys to a

display

of the Grand Canyon at a

grocery store

.” Donald snorted, leaning into Mickey’s side as the mouse laughed. They fell into another silence, Mickey linking their arms together, resting his head on Donald’s shoulder. Donald left the mouse to his thoughts for a few minutes, watching Max teach the kids, Huey fretting over the safety gear. Louie just wanted to learn how to get places faster, while Dewey and Webby were begging him to teach them cool tricks.

Mickey’s arm tightened around his after a few minutes, making Donald look down at him.

“I really am so glad you’re back, pal. Nothing’s really been the same without you.” He confessed quietly.

“Like a part of us was missing.” Donald continued, because he’d experienced it acutely many times. When Della went missing, when he’d broken up with Panchi and Źe, when he’d turned away from his friends in his grief, hating that that particular hole could only be blamed on himself.

Donald and Mickey loved each other. How could they not? They’d known each other since they were babies, had always been in each other’s lives. They weren’t involved in any way. They each had their own partners for romance. But what was between them was just as special, just as important, the love just as real.

Donald pressed a kiss to the top of Mickey’s head, taking his arm back only to wrap it around his best friend and pull him even closer.

“I’m glad I’m back too.”