Everywhere I turn / I hurt someone (donald and della)

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Everywhere I turn / I hurt someone (donald and della)

It had been a short while since Della had returned, and for the most part, it had been a happy reunion. Endless hugs and kisses with the boys, exchanging of stories, and readjusting to gravity... things had been exciting.

But not perfect.

Eventually Della realized it wasn't her imagination - Donald had been avoiding her. He had managed to get away with it, what with the boys understandably taking up all of Della's attention, but even they needed education. With great protest, the boys were shipped off to school, and Della set her plan into motion.

If you could call this a plan - heading right to the house-boat and knocking on it endlessly.

"I know you're in there, Donald. I can do this all day. You know I will!"

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The first knock had caused him to jump, startled, and he fumbled with the mug he had been holding. Not able to quite catch it, it clattered to the ground and broke.

Then he sighed, though whether because of the ceramic pieces on the floor or because Della was outside, even he wasn't sure. And for a moment, he thought about letting her wait; sure she could do that all day, but so could he.

But knowing that it would probably cause a scene, and the last thing he wanted was to also deal with Scrooge on top of all this, he went and opened the door.

"Hey," he murmured, somewhat distractedly as he quickly headed back inside. And if he didn't look at her, it surely was because he was thinking about having to clean up the broken mug on the floor, right?

She didn't stop banging until the door was open, and almost banged Donald's head. Thankfully she managed to pull back just in time.

"Hey-" Aaand he was turning away. "Hey!" Angrily, she made a grab for his arm to and make him stay in place. "Why do you keep running away from me?" She tried not to sound as upset as she felt, worried it would only make things worse.

"I've been home for days but you've barely said two words to me!"

He gave a surprised squawk as he was jerked back, finally looking at her.

“I wasn’t...” he started, but knew he wouldn’t be able to stay the rest without her getting upset. So instead he pointed to the mess on the floor. “I just need to clean that up.”

And he totally wasn’t avoiding the issue.

"And that can't wait?" She wasn't going to let go of his arm anytime soon, if her grip was any indication. "I've been away for over ten years! I thought about you every single day! And now it's like..."

She didn't want to say it, but it came out all the same, her voice more shattered than the mug.

"... It's like you hate me."

He sucked in a sharp breath, but even as his heart broke, he hesitated.

“I...I don’t hate you, Della,” he finally said after a long silence. Though maybe this would’ve been easier if he had. “I’m...I’m really glad that you’re back. You have no idea how much we missed you these past ten years...how much I missed you.”

It was obvious he was holding something back, and while he had every intention of just leaving it there...well, neither of them had been good at controlling their tempers.

Edited 2019-03-11 21:00 (UTC)

“I...I’m just so furious at you!“

Finally.

"And, what, you were just going to let it set and fester and let us never speak to each other again?" The only person with a temper to match Donald's was, naturally, Della.

"Talk to me! Tell me everything!"

“Of course I wasn’t, but I didn’t want to get into this with you in front of the boys!” he snapped. Because even now, the boys were always his first priority. “They deserve to have a happy reunion with you without having to hear me blowing up like usual! And I thought maybe if I tried to cool down, I could talk to you without blowing up, because I don’t want to be mad at you, because it’s been ten years, and I’m tired of being mad, and I just want to enjoy this too!”

He finally managed to pull his arm from her grasp, but only enough to turn away slightly, his body tense with the anger that he had been holding back. “But I am! I’m mad, because you didn’t listen to me all those years ago, and you left, and look what happened! I...” For a moment, the rage seemed to fizzle out as he sighed. “I spent a lot of it blaming Uncle Scrooge, y’know. I kept the boys away from him for ten years, because I blamed him for what happened, and I didn’t want the boys to get wrapped up in that kind of life.”

Then he looked back up at Della, his eyes narrow as the anger returned. “But it took me a long time to remember that it’s not entirely his fault.”

She knew this would hurt, and she thought she had been prepared for it - but there are some pains you ultimately can't be ready for. The accusations, right was they were, stabbed her over, and over, and over.

Maybe Donald didn't hate her, but she sure hated herself.

Her fists clenched, and she closed her eyes, in a pitiful attempt to stop any tears that might come.

"... I know." She finally replied, her voice weak, tired.

"I know it's my fault. I... I thought I knew better than you, and Uncle Scrooge. When I got pregnant, and I couldn't keep adventuring with you two, I wanted... nothing more than to go back into the fray. So when that first chance popped up... I took it without thinking. I told myself it was for the boys... That I was doing it for them, but we both know the truth." A hard swallow. "... I stole the Spear of Selene for myself."

"And because of that... I hurt our family."

The rest of his anger faded, crumbling in the face of seeing Della hurt. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he then reached out and pulled her into a tight hug.

The dam burst, and the moment she was in his arms, she sobbed and felt as if she would never stop crying. She clung desperately to his back, her face in his shoulder, body shuddering.

"I'm... so... sorry..." She choked out among tears. "I'm sorry..."

Despite being close to tears himself, he managed to keep it together enough to be steady for her, rubbing her back soothingly as he held her close.

“I know...” he murmured softly. “I know. You’re back now...that’s all that matters.”

She didn't reply for a long time - couldn't, with the agonizing sobs taking over. It took several long moments to regain something close to composure, sniffling as she leaned on him.

"... You did such a good job." She mumbled. "With the boys... they're... they're so great. And they love you so much."

He gave a soft, sad laugh. “I didn’t really do all that much...they were already getting tired of me being so overprotective even before we started living with Uncle Scrooge.”

"Donald, stop." She pulled back enough to face him. He always bad at taking compliments - funny how some things never changed.

"You... did everything they needed. They were loved, and protected, and... I'm so proud of them. You let them be who they are, but you kept them safe when they needed it. You encouraged what they were passionate about, you did everything a good parent is supposed to do."

He did everything she couldn't.

"... And I'm proud of you, too."

He managed a smile, but there was something in it that wasn’t quite right, conflicted with the different emotions warring in his.

“Thanks,” he said softly. “...but I’m only their uncle.”

He could be so humble it was irritating. Like she wanted to hug him and smack him at the same time.

"You were their parent." She insisted. "And... right now, you still are. They're... not going to see me as a real parent for a long time." It hurt to admit it, like glass in her mouth.

He shook his head. “No...I’ve always only ever been their uncle. That’s why I made sure they only ever called me ‘Uncle Donald’ growing up.”

Because it would’ve been more than easy to have just sidestepped all that. To pretend he had been their father, and never even mentioned Della. But he could never bring himself to do that...even if he did grow a bit jealous after a while.

“That’s...also kind of why I gave you some space, so the boys could have more time with you. Because you’re their mother. I was never meant to be anything but second to you.”

Some mother she turned out to be. But she kept the thought inside of her, as it wouldn't help anything.

"I'm more than just a mother," she pointed out. "I'm a niece, and a sister. And... and I want to catch up with everyone, including you. You were my best friend... my other half. Being away from you just... just sucks." Maybe not the best word to describe it, but it felt accurate.

"I want to be in their lives, and your life, and that means you remains part of theirs. You will never be second to them. Not the man who rocked them to sleep, and held them when they cried."

He managed a small smile. “Yeah...it sucked a lot without you here. And I’m always gonna be involved with the boys’ lives.” He was a bit too selfish to not be involved. “It’s just...to let you be the mother they need you to be...I have to step back.”

He could be as stubborn as she was. "Can't we decide how far or near you need to be?" She brushed some tears off her cheeks. "In case you haven't noticed... we're all pretty bad at actually talking about our problems."

That did get more of a laugh out of him. “Yeah well...I hate to tell you, but that hasn’t gotten any better.”

In fact, the past ten years probably made that even worse.

"Can't get any worse than it is now." So she hoped. "So... just let me in. Let me a part of your life again. Let me hear about your life. Let me be you sister again."

"... Please?" He never could resist her "please"s.

He definitely couldn’t, and eventually he sighed, giving her a faint smile.

“You could never stop being my sister, dummy,” he replied with a gentle teasing. Even so, whatever wall he might have had definitely seemed to crumble now.

"What, no more Dumbella?" A small laugh before she went in for another hug. Things hadn't been completely repaired... but it was a step in the right direction.

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