Pass the test, t-taste the flesh (scrooge x magica)

[blackmagicduck]

 One of the disadvantages of immortal youth was that it sometimes limited her options. If she wanted something fresh and young, she needed to be where the fresh and young people where, and gods, their music was awful. What happened to the good old days of violins and organs?

So imagine her surprise as she viewed the buffet to find one snack that looked older than most. She raised an eyebrow - he didn't seem to be in any midlife crisis. The exact opposite, in fact - like if he had any real choice, he wouldn't be here. Well... she could fix that for him.

She licked her lips, and then made her way across the room. A gorgeous beauty like her, it was like parting the ocean waves with a hand. She was by his side within seconds, sizing him up.

Nice, very nice. He even smelled delicious.

"Congratulations, you're the most miserable person here, and I think that includes the janitor."

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[blackmagicduck]

She cupped his cheeks, making him look at her. No hesitation on her side, no doubt.

"You can never hurt me the way the man who turned me did. No one can do worse to me than how he cursed me."

[richestduck]

And she would see tears there, tears he'd been hoping to hide by keeping his head lowered.

He swallowed and could only nod his understanding. Or at least nod to acknowledge what she'd said. He wasn't sure he understood anymore.

[blackmagicduck]

She wiped under his eyes with her thumbs, and kissed away any tears that escaped.

To hell with the world that had broken him. It didn't deserve him.

[richestduck]

He closed his eyes and leaned into her again. He had to go to the office, but...he just wanted a few more minutes to collect himself.

[blackmagicduck]

She held him, stroking his head. All was well, and all would be better. Soon, he'd leave them and stay with her, as it was meant to be.

[richestduck]

He took a few more deep breaths, calming himself, before he pulled back enough to kiss her.

"I'll give you a call or text soon," he promised.

[blackmagicduck]

"I'll be waiting," as always. She stroked his cheek, then slowly pulled away.

[richestduck]

He relunctantly stepped away as well before heading to the Bin. Perhaps if the gods were kind, things weren't as dire as they were made out to be.

[blackmagicduck]

Two weeks to restock food and wine, two weeks to relax. Now that she had his devotion, she didn't need to worry as deeply. They could do almost anything, and they'd be happy.

Happy... yes, that was this oddly content feeling, was it? Time would fly by before she knew it.

[richestduck]

However, a text came a week later.

need 2 c u sooner

have 2 go 2 germany nxt wk

The man was a wreck as he hit "send". He didn't want to go to Germany. He didn't want to miss their usual meeting.

[blackmagicduck]

... Germany?

GERMANY?!

Her fingers almost broke the phone in her fury - where did he get off, going all the way to Germany and leaving her? Who knew how long that would take? How could he do this to her?

... No, not him. His work did this. And that could change.

Do you want to come tonight?

She'd learn what she could from him, who to see and who to meet on this side of the world... then she'd hunt them down, and give them a hard dose of enchantment. Whatever it took to keep Scrooge here.

[richestduck]

y

His heart was beating so fast that he was almost certain he was having a heart attack.

[blackmagicduck]

Come on over, I'll have everything ready ♥

She would fix things, come hell or high water.

[richestduck]

Scrooge almost dropped the phone in relief as he read her text.

She wasn't angry. Or at least he didn't think she was. He hoped she wasn't.

He was leaving in two days, so at least he could spend some time with her tomorrow. She could drink her fill so she wouldn't go hungry next week. He should be back by the time their next planned meeting would be.

If he'd chosen to acknowledge it, he would've realized that he was emotionally dependent on her.

[blackmagicduck]

Once she found out the important names, she could mesmerize the people in charge of this decision. Send a substitute, a video conference, or cancel it altogether. Maybe it'd only take one person to enchant, maybe it'd take twenty, but she'd exhaust herself to the bone to make it work.

But first, date night.

She waited for him at the library, dressed to the nines, with a bit of perfume on her neck. Let him think all was normal.

[richestduck]

Scrooge had felt the need to bring her something by way of apology. It wasn't very big, just a white gold bracelet with cut amethysts, but hopefully she would like it.

He swallowed back nausea from all his worry before knocking on the door.

[blackmagicduck]

She opened it with a pleasant smile, and greeted him with a kiss.

"What a treat to see you so early."

[richestduck]

"It's good to see you, too, Magica," he told her, his smile a bit strained. "I'm just sorry it's under these circumstances."

He reached into his pocket with the box for the bracelet.

"Here. I wanted to get you a little something as a thank you."

[blackmagicduck]

She raises her eyebrows, taking the box. "Oh?" And her smile only became greater when she saw the bracelet. "My, my, my... seems your taste for beauty extends to everything. Thank you, my darling."

She slid it on her wrist, and admired how it looked on her. "I'll treasure it always."

[richestduck]

"I'm glad you like it," he told her honestly.

Honestly, he felt like he needed something stronger than wine tonight. He already looked a bit haggard from trying to clean up the mess in Germany without having to go there. Which meant his sleep schedule had been thrown for a loop to try and match timezones.

Leaving Duckburg was a last resort.

[blackmagicduck]

She took him by the hand and led him inside.

"Before we enter our paradise... I just want to understand a little better what's happening." A gentle squeeze. "I'm not mad, I promise." Not at him, anyway.

[richestduck]

It was good to hear that she wasn't upset at him, but she was still upset. He squeezed her hand a bit tightly before he forced his grip to relax.

"It's a bit complicated," he told her. "Not that I don't think you'd understand it. It's just that I've spent the past several days trying to unravel it all."

[blackmagicduck]

"Maybe saying it out loud will help you put it into context... or at least release it to the world."

She sat him down on a couch, then moved behind him to rub his shoulders.

[richestduck]

He was so tense that it would feel like trying to knead a rock.

"The European branch of McDuck Enterprises is in Berlin, Germany. The head of the office apparently decided to line her pockets with dirty money and used the branch office as her personal money laundering location. Which was stupid in and of itself since it ended up being traced back to her thanks to the German authorities investigating the flow of cash."

He took a shuddering breath.

"I've been in talks with the German government all week to try and sort this out. I barely managed to dodge out of having to go to Brussels since my ex-branch president broke not just German law but EU law as well. I'm having to go to Germany as a sign of goodwill and to ensure that the branch office fully cooperates with German authorities. If I didn't, I really would be dragged to Brussels to basically renegotiate trade deals with the EU, and that nightmare bureaucracy would likely keep me away from Duckburg for months. Particularly since the EU isn't exactly pleased that they're usually having to negotiate with me when they want to try and squeeze more tax revenue out of not just my pockets but those of my workers as well."

[blackmagicduck]

She kneaded as she listened, doing her best to work every knot she found. So, he was being made to suffer for the sins of others? It was a real sign that this world didn't deserve him, and he was better off abandoning them to stay with her.

Hmmm... manipulating this decision would be difficult. It sounded like all the key players were in Germany. She couldn't enchant anyone over a screen - one of the banes of technology - and she couldn't very well fly all the way to Brussels with bat wings.

... But perhaps she was looking at this the wrong way. Why wait for Scrooge over here when she could come along? With her powers, it'd be easy to sneak aboard any plane and tail him. He might even enjoy the surprise when she popped up over there.

"Poor darling." She kissed his cheek. "You're too good for all of them."