happilyeverbeginning | if i couldn't be strong / would you still love me the same (scrooge x magica)

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if i couldn't be strong / would you still love me the same (scrooge x magica)

If a year or two ago, someone had told Magica she was about to do this, she would have laughed in their faces and slapped them. Magica De Spell, world's greatest sorceress, asking her number one enemy Scrooge McDuck for help? It was madness! It was insane!

... But right now, it was her only option.

Typically she only "attacked" him at work, trying at his actual mansion would be something new. If his family was home, she'd be kicked out in an instant. She had to make this quick...!

She circled the mansion several times atop her flying broom before spotting an open window. It was now or never, she could only hope she was right, and this was the master bedroom! At least there they would have some privacy, and surely he'd be home by now!

She took a deep breath, and then flew straight in, leaping to the floor without a second thought. "Scrooge McDuck!"

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Magica mentally debated a moment more before taking Scrooge's hand, not meeting his eyes. "I suppose you might be the real Scrooge... only he would keep asking me such foolish questions!" Someone was on the defensive! With a huff, she stuck her beak up, and forced him to walk ahead -

Until he asked what happened to her. She froze, choking, and then shook her head. "Nothing! Nothing happened!" She denied a little too quickly, before realizing she was trying to hard to sell her case. After a moment of embarrassment, she twirled her hair around her finger. "... I... might have seen something... I-it was... the dime! Yes, you were offering me your number one dime. But!" She straightened her back, haughty again. "Of course, I saw right through it! I wasn't fooled for a second!"

Then, slightly more serious, "If I had been tricked for too long... well, this place is only meant for spirits. We would have been trapped here until our bodies wasted away to nothing."

Skeptically he looked at her "I don't understand why you're so red in the face then and so agitated? I thought that scene was almost all you saw here."

She lied, that was clear. So she had really seen something too personal to share with her arch enemy. The thought made him angry and then the fact that he got angry made him even angrier. A vicious circle...

But her last words worried him, he had really been close to forever rotting in the depths of the underworld. No, for an illusion this price was too high for the reality on the other hand...

Well, he was already standing next to her in Hades, that was probably proof enough of how far he would go for her... just so that she could fantasize about another...

But what did he expect? He was an old, stingy douchebag that denied her the only thing she wanted. Why would she ever?...

"Enough!"

Scrooge shouted it out loud, the thoughts in his head made him insane and it was absolutely not the right time. He shook his head to get clear and turn his anger into power for their cause. "Come on, let's see if we can... borrow the boat..."

Magica raised an eyebrow. What was that all about? If he had been fooled by an illusion, it was just money and treasure, wasn't it? As if he'd want anything else. She rolled her eyes, trying to focus on their original reason to be here.

"The Guardian will never let us 'borrow' it. His duty is to ferry the dead. So we'll have to distract him to steal the boat."

And if you thought she wasn't serious, she cracked her knuckles. "I vote we push him into the river."

Maybe he should concentrate on this Magica that did evil without hesitation to distract himself.

However, he knew this side of her well enough and that hadn't stopped him from...

Woah woah woah, stop! Scrooge, scolded his own mind. Physical attraction, sure, only someone blind could blame him for that. Everything else was sheer madness!

"Maybe we can approach the matter with a little more finesse. I don't think Hades will let us walk out of here again if we sink his most loyal servant into the Styx forever..."

At that time he outtalked the upper witches so dreaded by Magica. Maybe he could convince the ferryman as well... .

Magica scoffed, turning to face him, arms crossed. "You really think you can bargain with the Guardian? This isn't some business transaction! I don't have a doubt in my mind he'll rat us out and make sure we pay for trespassing."

Then again, if anyone was a master of bargaining, it would be Scrooge McDuck. Hadn't it been his adventurous spirit that made Magica want to bring him along in the first place? She was being awfully combative. Perhaps it was because of what happened during their time apart... which she still refused to speak of.

He resolutely stepped up to the ferryman with all the confidence of a steam engine. He pulled Magica resolutely behind him. Under no circumstances would he let go of her hand while they were in Hades again.

"To a word, good man, Charon I presume? My name is Scrooge McDuck." He began confident and with verve in his voice. The figure made no effort to speak, but held out its hand as if waiting for something. Of course, payment.

"Aye, as you can see, neither my companion nor I are dead on the way to the afterlife. No, rather we are travelers, explorers if you will. We do not intend to reach the other shore. But we would like to venture to the middle of it."

He spoke so firmly and fast that he did not admit any objections, should there be any. "Of course I realize that such excursions are not part of your work, nor do I want to burden you. Since we intend to return to this shore, it would also be pointless to waste your valuable time riding us."

His grip on Magica's hand became stronger. As always, he took an enormous risk. But where would he be today if it weren't in his nature? "I myself am a very capable bootsman, so a suggestion for goodness. We manoeuvre the boat ourselves and at the moment you can treat yourself to a well-deserved break. As a token of my appreciation, I would also like to present you with this coin. You will not be able to find such a coin in all of Hades."

He pulled a single lousy penny out of his pocket. But still he was right, there was no American money in Hades. Charon looked at the money offered for a time, still wordless.

Edited 2018-12-29 10:57 (UTC)

Magica held her breath as she watched Scrooge work. While she she was confident in Scrooge's skills - he wasn't the world's richest duck by sheer luck - this was a dangerous situation. One wrong move or word, and maybe they'd have to deal with the Lord of Death himself. Even a powerful sorceress like her didn't want to face that.

... A penny? Scrooge was betting everything on a penny?! This was either genius or insanity! Or both!

Magica almost yelled at him before realizing that would give the game away. If this was going to work, she'd better play along. After clearing her throat...

"Oh, wow! What a bargain! I can't believe you'd let him have something so valuable!"

Playfully indignant, he looked around at her. "I pray you, my dearest, consider the inconvenience we are causing the good lord here. I can not splash out!"

Smiling, he turned back to the ferryman. "Please excuse my companion, greed is really not a good quality..." Mischievous sideways glance at Magica.

"Be that as it may, it is my fortune and if I wish to pass it on to you for research purposes. That is my decision alone".

Confidently he looked the figure firmly in the face. "Come on, no false shyness. With all the work you are doing, you deserve this gift!"

Couldn't resist the dig at her, could he? ... Then again, if their positions were reversed, she would have done the same thing. As a result, she found herself smirking right back.

"If you say so, Scrooge, but you better not wind up complaining later!" Might as well sell it a little more.

There was nothing but silence in the caverns... and then...

Charon, very, slowly... held out his hand for the penny.

"If I feel bad about it later, you'll find a way to make me feel better my love." Slide out before he could think about the meaning of his words.

But then his attention was drawn to the ferryman, who slowly and carefully accepted the offered Penny as if it were the greatest treasure on earth. He himself was surprised that his plan had worked.

"But this will have to wait, we have an agreement as it looks." He bowed slightly to Charon and helped Magica gallantly into the boat. "Don't worry good man, we won't need long. Thank you very much, you' re doing a great service to research."

Before the ferryman could change his mind, they left. Scrooge steered the boat with the long stick unerringly into the middle of the river. But Magica has to take the lead here. He didn't know exactly what they needed to help Ratface.

Magica would've raised an eyebrow about that little pet-name, but - of course, it was part of the ruse, wasn't it? It's not like he meant it.

She breathed a sigh of relief once they were inside the boat. Their journey was going smoothly! She peered over the edge of the boat, at the murky water underneath them. She glanced back, making sure they were far enough from Charon and his post, before she spoke.

"We need to find the clearest section of the lake. That will be the best water for Ratface's recovery."

Clear water in this soup... he looked around intently. Then a few meters further he saw a faint glow from the depth. "Do you mean this spot there?" With his free hand he pointed to the light.

The other one was still firmly intertwined with Magica's hand. First, he wasn't sure if there was any danger on the lake anymore and second... he just didn't want to let go.

Magica's eyes glittered, trying to move slowly across the boat so they wouldn't rock or tip over. "Yes, perfect! One scoop of that, and he's as good as cured!"

Now confident that nothing could ruin this trip, Magica plopped back in her seat, her ego rising. "To think it's done that simply! I knew it was the right choice asking you to come along."

Did she notice in her joy that she was just praising him? But for now, Scrooge didn't care. He smiled warmly at her and raised her hand to his lips to kiss it carefully. "And I am glad that I was able to experience this adventure with you and help Ratface with it.

He looked deep into her eyes. Who knew when he would get the chance again? He sighed deeply, there was still this problem that he had become aware of here in the underworld. One day he would probably have to talk to her about it. That would only be fair, she should know she caused in him...

But for the time being Ratface was still in first place. He took the ampoule from Magica's hand with which she wanted to scoop the water. "Give it to me, I'll do it." He dipped the glass into the water and wanted to pull the jar out again.

At that moment a musty hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him down. He let go of Magica's hand in the presence of his mind in order not to pull her with him.

Magica could feel her cheeks reddening upon that small gesture of affection. She shyly tucked some hair behind her shoulder, averting her eyes. "I... suppose I should be grateful." A little mumble.

She easily handled over the ampoule, but - what was happening now?! Magica yelped, and than threw her arms around his chest, yanking him back as hard as she could. "Scrooge!"

At that moment he really thought that was the end of him and the only thing that went through his mind was... Magica...

Would she make it safely out of Hades if he died now? His head was already dipping into the icy water as he suddenly felt arms wrapping around him and dragging him back into the boat.
The grip around his wrist was released by the jerk and he landed blindly on his savior.

The ampoule still clasped tightly and filled with the precious liquid.

The shock had gone deep into his limbs and he breathed heavily. Finally he stood up on his elbows so as not to crush Magica. They were still so close that he could feel her warmth.

"Thank you..." he brought out japsing. Water dripped from his head onto her face. So it almost seemed as if she had tears in her eyes.

Magica's head spun, trying to understand what had just happened. She shook her head, sitting up. "Are you all right? That... thing nearly killed you!" The river was full of lost souls, and no doubt it wasn't capable of handling a living being. If it had even been a few seconds longer...

Swallowing, she glanced over the sides. "They must know we don't belong here... we've got to get out of here, before they try and take you away again!"

...Before they try to take you away again... It almost sounded like she really cared. "Yes.... I think I'm ok... it was just a shock. But...

" He triumphantly held up the filled bottle. "I have the cure!" Before something could be spilled he corked up the bottle and Magica put it back.

Then he grabbed her hand again and this time he really wouldn't let go until they were back on the surface. He pressed her hand firmly to his heart as he held it.

"Really... thank you for saving me. Only this brief dip into the water felt as if all my strength was being stolen. Let's get out of here!"

"You, stay back." After what he'd been through, he was in no condition to do anymore strenuous work - or at least she thought so. "I'll handle the rowing."

She'd come this close to losing Ratface, she was not going to lose anyone else, and if she saw that hand again, she was going to take that rowing paddle and beat it to smithereens! "What are you always like this? This is MY quest, so you shouldn't be putting yourself into danger all the time! The illusions, Charon, and now this... just... shut up, and let me do everything!" He was always like this! She couldn't stand it - especially since, obviously, it was her fault.

Surprised, he looked at her after her outburst. She had taken her hand back to maneuver the staff with both hands. So much for not wanting to let her go... but otherwise they would take far too long to get back to the shore, so he let her do it and sat down obediently.

"I'm glad I was the one. I came with you to help you and protect you. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you..." He replied calmly after some time. "I knew the danger.

Magica kept her back to him, silently rowing. It seemed to stretch onto forever - the guilt of his sincere words eating at her. Eventually, she groaned, annoyed at having a conscience.

"... I lied." A pause. "Or, at least... I didn't tell you the whole truth... about the illusion earlier."

Scrooge wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the truth or not... Did he know the person who appeared to her? Was it really like it was with him? Would he set out to destroy that person if so?...

No, because if it was Magica's deepest desire, then he had to be happy for her... He swallowed hard.

"I have also told you nothing and... I don't think you want to know either..." he looked up at her. "But, what did you see? Please tell me..."

So that I can start to process it.

Maigca inhaled deeply, clearly not wanting to share. After a hard, heavy swallow, she closed her eyes, her face now the reddest it'd been all day.

"I did see you, and you were offering me the dime..." She trailed off, as if saying this was harder than puling teeth. As a result, her voice became quieter and quieter, becoming an embarrassed mumble.

"...In... exchange for... us... fooling around..."

"What do you mean, fool around? I mean, isn't it always so between us?" He asked in complete innocence.

Really, normally their encounters were never dead serious after all.

Magica thudded her head against the rowing paddle. Stupid old man! She gritted her teeth before trying again.

"Not that type of fooling around! The kind, you know, where, you and I..." She made a waving gesture between them. Nope, still nothing.

"Oh for - sleeping together!" And if she had to explain THAT any further, she would rather dive into the ghostly waters herself.

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