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Gyro sighed, pushing away the blueprints he was working on and rubbing his eyes under his glasses. He missed Donald, he missed the kids. He understood that Donald needed some time to settle in with his uncle, especially after ten years of not speaking, but he’d gotten used to spending his evenings with them. Gotten used to homework and dinner and bedtimes and goodnight kisses. Low key date nights where one of them would fall asleep exhausted on the others shoulder. Texts reminding him to take breaks, that he had a life outside the lab.
He was still getting messages from Donald, but he hadn’t seen the duck in weeks. His phone buzzed on his desk, Lil Bulb bringing it over to him. A message from Huey, which surprised him. Huey didn’t normally like messaging.
Hey Uncle Gyro, could you come pick us up from fubklmp
Gyro raised an eyebrow at the message. Huey was never one to have typos, never one to send messages early. Something was… not right here. He sent a message to Donald asking if the kids were alright, which went unanswered. Gyro really didn’t like this. He scooped Lil Bulb up onto his shoulder, already forming ideas and excuses to give to Mr McDuck as to why he was there.
On the drive to the manor he was just filled with more and unease. Donald and Huey still weren’t answering their phones, and even more concerning, Louie wasn’t either. The gates were open, but the door was locked, with nobody answering. Not Mrs Beakley, not his chauffeur, not Mr McDuck, not Donald or the kids. Leaving the main entrance, he walked around and found Donald’s houseboat in the back, sitting wide open near the kitchen entrance, also wide open.
Shit. Something was definitely wrong. This is exactly what Donald was worried about.
He ran into the mansion through the kitchen, his heart beating faster and faster in worry.
“Mr McDuck? Mrs Beakley? Donald?” He called, stepping on a piece of paper near the bench. A ransom note for the kids. Good Godfrey.
“
Mr McDuck!
” He yelled, running through to the rest of the mansion, vaguely familiar with the layout.
“Gyro? What on earth are ye doin’ here?” Scrooge finally answered, sounding far off.
He started heading towards the lobby, the paper clutched in his hands. Thankful he was right, Mr McDuck came out the other side of the lobby, and he waved the letter around frantically.
“The kids are gone, the kids have been
taken!
I think Donald’s gone after them, but none of them are answering their phones. Do you know where they went?!” He asked, uncaring of the desperation in his voice.
“Wha- how do you have the boys numbers?” Scrooge asked, taking the paper that Gyro was still waving around.
“Is that really all you got from that?! The kids are
missing!
” Gyro snapped, throwing his hands up in disbelief. They had to try and find them. Someone had the kids and was demanding a ransom from Scrooge. He knew the duck was stingy, but would be willing to pay it for his family. He’d seen what he was like after Della. If they could get in contact with the people who had taken them-
The front door burst open, the boys, Donald, the housekeeper and her granddaughter walking in.
“Uncle Gyro!” Dewey called with a grin from his seat on Donald’s shoulders, surprise written on all their faces.
“Oh thank goodness.” He breathed, running forward and pulling Huey and Louie into a tight hug. “I didn’t know what was going on. I got a message from you, Huey, but it was incomplete and then when I came by the boat and the manor were just open and there was a ransom note and none of you were answering your phones and then-“
“Breathe, Gy.” Donald interrupted, reaching over to cup his cheek. “I think I left my phone on the boat. I would’ve made one of the boys call you if I’d known you were worrying.”
Gyro relaxed slightly, releasing Huey (who he knew preferred brief contact) and adjusting his hold on Louie (who he knew liked to cling, especially after something happened) (Jeez he knew a lot about these kids).
“Where have you
been
, Uncle Gyro?” Louie asked accusingly, pouting even as his hands clung onto his collar.
“Uh, sorry boys. Just been really busy at the lab.” He offered as an explanation, glancing at Donald. Dewey turned to look at Scrooge still standing behind them.
“So
you’ve
been keeping Uncle Gyro from us!” Dewey declared dramatically. “Our very own Uncle Gyro! Whom we love and hold dear in our hearts!”
Gyro was a very strange mix of floored, loved, overwhelmed, panicked, and protective. Dewey was a dramatic child, yes, but unless he was scheming, he was usually very truthful. He knew the kids liked him, but to care about him so deeply was… was something he hadn’t let himself consider. On the other hand, Donald hadn’t wanted Scrooge to know. Donald had still wanted to keep some distance from his uncle until things weren’t quite so uncomfortable and tense between them. Until that declaration, some sort of excuse could have possibly been concocted to explain his presence and his concern, but now? Now there was no turning back.
“What in the blazes are ye talking about, lad?” Scrooge asked, looking lost in the middle of the room. Donald was looking extremely panicked, but sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.
“Gyro and I have been dating for… four years now, Scrooge.” He admitted, tapping Dewey’s arm to signal him to get off his shoulders. Dewey slid down Donald’s back, gladly wrapping himself around Gyro’s waist while Scrooge spluttered in the background. Huey’s eyes widened in understanding.
“Oh man, guys. Uncle Scrooge didn’t know.” He whispered loudly to his brothers.
Dewey pulled back, looking suddenly worried. The boys had all, unfortunately and despite their best efforts, seen the “opinions” of older citizens of Duckburg regarding what they thought of Donald’s and his relationship. Honestly, Gyro himself didn’t know Scrooge’s feelings on the matter. It’s not something you talk about with your boss, and Donald didn’t like to talk about Scrooge in most circumstances. Kneeling down on the floor, he pointed up to Lil Bulb, still sitting on his shoulder opposite Louie.
“Listen, your Uncles and I probably need to have a long and boring adult conversation, ugh, so would you guys do me a favour and test out this prototype for me? His name is Lil Bulb, and he’s made to help with simple tasks.”
All three boys sent him unimpressed looks.
“You’re just trying to get rid of us.” Dewey said, crossing his arms. Gyro sighed.
“Yeah. But if you don’t take my offer, you’re not getting your hands on Lil Bulb until he hits the market.” He deadpanned, smirking at Huey and Louie’s suddenly horrified faces. He carefully handed Lil Bulb over to Huey and placed Louie down. “Alright, off you go. Don’t break him and
don’t
give him too many tasks! I’m still working on his sentience chip so it might get buggy.”
“Yes, Uncle Gyro.” They all chimed in usion, Dewey pausing to grab the granddaughters hand before following his brothers.
“Come on, Webby! You can see him too!”
“O- oh, okay! Cool!”
Donald watched them go fondly, turning that fond look onto Gyro, making him blush.
“Good job.” He said softly, making Gyro’s face heat further as the duck took his hand. Scrooge scoffed from where he was standing.
“What you go and send them away for? I’m not about to go kicking anybody out. There might possibly be some sort of HR form to fill in, though I’m not sure on that, but that’s about it.”
“Yes! We’re staying!” Was heard from just around the corner, making both Gyro and Donald sigh at the same time.
“Boys!” The duck snapped half heartedly, the three of them peeking around the corner, Huey smiling sheepishly, the other two unabashedly grinning.
“Mrs B, can Uncle Gyro stay for dinner?! Please please please!!” Louie asked, stepping around fully and getting more “please!”’s from his brothers. Mrs Beakley held up a hand and they went quiet.
“Yes, Mr Gearloose, may stay for dinner if he so wishes.” She assured them, and Gyro was hit with three sets of puppy dog eyes from the ducklings.
“Oh- I- yeah. Dinner woul-“
“YES!” The boys cheered, Louie running down to grab his hand, pulling him along.
“You can come see our new room! It’s as big as half the boat! Plus you can show us how to use your invention! And Dewey has math homework he needs help with and this is Webby she’s our new friend and last week we saw the coolest thing…”
Gyro slipped back into place like he’d never left.
~~~
After explaining why he was turning off Lil Bulb for the night to his invention, placing him in Mrs Beakley’s safe hands for the night, going through a familiar goodnight routine with the boys, now one added girl in the mix, with a quick goodnight to Scrooge and Mrs B, Donald finally led him out to the houseboat in the pool for the night. The duck walked straight through to the bedroom and collapsed, groaning into his pillow. Gyro, familiar with Donald, placed his hat on the dresser and climbed onto the bed beside him, starting to rub the tension out of his shoulders.
“You okay?” He asked after a few minutes of silence, Donald finally moving as he gripped his hair in his hands.
“Stuff like this is exactly what I was afraid of.” He groaned, his hands shaking just slightly.
“They got
kidnapped
,
at Funzo’s
. Because people knew they were related to Scrooge. Held at fucking ransom, just like I was when I was a kid. I didn’t want this life for them.” Donald’s voice started breaking, obvious tears forming even if Gyro couldn’t see them.
“But you got them back. You’ll always get them back, and if it ever, god forbid, happens again, I’ll be right by your side.”
Donald pushes himself up, balling his fists in his lap.
“God, and you wanna know what might be the worst part? It felt
good
. Not the boys being- but the fighting, being back in the action again. It felt
so good
, and I hate that. It’s just going to get the boys hurt ag-“
“It’s going to keep the boys
safe
.” Gyro interrupted forcefully, taking Donald’s beak and forcing the duck to look at him. “Whatever happened, whatever you did, it kept our kids
safe
, and you got them
home
. They’re Ducks, they’re McDucks. Donnie, the other day, they were gonna Hotwire the boat to Cape Suzette! They were always going to seek out adventure, but now you can show them how to do it while staying safe, and keeping them safe when they slip up as they learn, just like you have with everything else. Our kids might be getting into more dangerous situations now, but they’ll still be the safest kids in town with us looking after them.”
Donald looked at him with wide eyes, a few tears spilling over before he launched forward to kiss him desperately, clinging to his vest and drawing every last bit of air out of Gyro. When they did run out of air, they didn’t go far, parting just enough to breathe, beaks still touching. Donald huffed a shaky laugh, moving one hand to hold his.
“I- I know this isn’t the point you were making but…” Donald laughed again, a bright, joyful sound. “You called them ‘our kids’.” He grinned, Gyro blushing furiously.
“I- um- well- I just-“
“No, no, shh. It’s good. Our kids. They’re
our
kids.” Donald giggled, making Gyro laugh now, tugging Donald into his lap.
“Dewey said he loved me! Louie didn’t want to let me go! I- I couldn’t believe it.” Gyro gasped, giddy with the feeling. Donald laughed again, rubbing his thumb along Gyro’s.
“You have been pretty much raising them with me for the last four years.” Donald reminded fondly, pressing a small kiss to his beak.
“Yeah, but I… I thought I was just “Uncle Donald’s Friend”, or something. Calling me Uncle is one thing, but actually- actually- good Godfrey, Don. I love them so much.” He beamed, laughing as Donald pressed kisses all over his face.
They both settled after a few minutes, just taking a few minutes to soak in each other after the weeks apart.
It was good to be together again.