happilyeverbeginning | he's down on his luck / he's down on his knees (scrooge x poe)

Entry tags:

he's down on his luck / he's down on his knees (scrooge x poe)

This hadn't been the best plan, but for Poe De Spell, it was the only plan he had. He'd lost track of how long it'd been since that fateful day he ran away in the middle of the night, in a desperate escape to get away from his parent's clutches. The arranged marriage had been the straw that broke the camel's back.

What a sight he must be now, he mused. The high-class fashion he was once so proud of was basically in tatters. He had long since run out of the money he could use - he didn't bring his credit cards, that would have made for easy tracking. Anything he had managed to take had now been sold just so he could eat and maybe find a roof to sleep under, but even that wasn't made to be forever.

Where did one find work when your grades were bribed to As? Who did you trust, when his parents had a bounty on his head?

He did keep his phone, but it was off. If he turned it on, his parents would find him. But it was a last chance deal - if truly all else failed, he'd use it. He prayed it never came to that. Even if it meant selling the last thing he had - himself.

He sat on the side of the road, ignoring his stomach growling for the umpteenth time, eyes distant and not really staring at anything.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Poe was again surprised, yet wondered why he was. Back in high school, Scrooge was devoted to his family in all sorts obvious ways. Magica and Poe were loyal to one another, yes, but they were special! Why Scrooge was like that was confusing. It made more sense to care about yourself and only yourself in a dog eat dog world... then again, his parent seemed to give a damn about him.

"And they're... all right with you sacrificing this much for their sake?"

Scrooge was quiet for several minutes.

Then he finally answered, so soft that it could've been easily-missed, "They don't know."

"What!"

Poe sat up abruptly, almost angry on their behalf. "What do you mean they don't know?!"

"They know I travel around a lot, that I go from job to job, but they don't know just how big of a cut of my earnings I give them. I can make do without it on my own."

Poe ran a hand down his face. "And can you make do with an extra mouth to feed, until I know what I'm doing? Scrooge, this is insane."

"I only have one meal a day normally. I've got more saved up than you think. Just not enough to cover fixing this blasted truck. Besides, you might find a permanent position soon and decide to stay while I move on."

One meal a day. He had to be joking.

"You're going to starve to death before Matilda ever spends a day at any college!" Poe snapped. "How long do you intend to make yourself suffer for everyone else's sake!"

Scrooge's grip on the wheel tightened. "Why the hell do you even care?! Besides, you think this is the only time a McDuck ever went without food?!"

He viciously turned the wheel and stopped by the side of the road, shutting off the engine the moment it stopped. Then he turned in his seat to glare hotly at Poe.

"My parents skipped meals for my sisters and me. When Mummy was pregnant with Matilda and Hortense, Daddy would skip for days at a time so she'd have that little bit extra so the eggs would be okay so Mummy wouldn't have to lose another egg to starvation. You have no right to get angry about what I do for my family! It's not like I'm taking anything from you!"

... Well. This was certainly different than the arguments they used to have back in high school. Maybe that's what Poe had been hoping for on some level, as a desperate attempt to get some sense of normalcy back in his life. Poe wouldn't have been surprised if any second now, Scrooge demanded Poe to leave.

He hugged his knee, not looking at Scrooge.

"... Sorry." He mumbled. An extremely rare apology, but one none the less.

Scrooge turned away, viciously swiping at his eyes to stop the angry tears.

"I wanted to be an archaeologist when I was a kid. By the time I was in middle school, I knew it wasn't going to happen. All I wanted was to keep my family afloat just one more generation before Clan McDuck dies out and nobody mourns us."

"... I just don't get it." Poe said quietly, eyes downward, still holding himself. "But then, I've never cared about the Spell legacy." Sure, he boasted about it when he was in school - but only because it was his name. If his last name had been Quackfaster or McQuack or anything else, he still would have boasted.

Spell meant nothing to him, in the long run.

Scrooge looked at Poe for a long minute before he turned back to start the truck up again.

"We've still got a two-hour drive if you'd like to hear a story about Clan McDuck. Maybe it'll help you understand."

So, he wasn't being kicked out? Another surprise. Maybe the surprises would never stop.

"Just don't get mad if I nod off."

"I won't." Scrooge took a deep breath. "The earliest known McDuck was my namesake: Scrooge Shah, the last king of Sadbad. Near the end of his reign, he received word that Khan Khan was coming with an army that far outmatched Sagbad's, burning everything in his wake and making slaves of those he didn't kill. Scrooge Shah decided that the best option for his people was to flee, so he ordered his son and heir Prince Donduk to lead their people as far to the northwest as possible. Meanwhile Scrooge Shah and what volunteers he could muster would hold off Khan Khan's army while those who couldn't fight escaped..."

And Scrooge continued talking, weaving a tale of adventure and danger that Scheherazade herself would've applauded.

Poe had indeed expected to fall asleep at boring tales of people who were worm food. But, much to his own surprise, he found himself rather invested in the stories - who would have thought Scrooge would get such a good storyteller? And who would have thought Poe would be interested in stories in the first place?

They were moments away from their destination as Poe laughed at the latest trade. "Okay, now you're making stuff up. Your family did not invent golf."

Scrooge laughed. "We did! Good old Black Donald invented the sport and then almost immediately nearly got it banned!"

Poe put a hand to his head as he continued to laugh. "Do you have any idea how many of those rich, old, elite-est farts would have a stroke knowing their 'beloved past-time' was made on the backs of commoners?"

Scrooge chuckled. "Aye. It'd definitely give them something to think about. Though at the time, we'd still somewhat recently lost our noble status." Pause. "Relatively speaking, of course. It was three hundred years after Sir Roast's not-so-little donation."

"He's the one who died from over-drinking, correct?"

Perhaps it was odd to know that Poe had, almost instantly, memorized this information... then again, who knew how close Poe had come to the same fate?

"Aye. Though if you look it up anywhere else, they'll claim it was overeating that did him in." Scrooge sighed. "The dirty family secret, I suppose."

He pulled into a WacDonald's parking lot. Then he unbuckled himself to reach under the seat to root around through a hole in the covering. He then pulled out a cashbox secured by a combination lock, definitely unlocking it.

There as probably about three hundred dollars in the box. Not exactly a king's ransom, but enough for Scrooge to get gas, pay his cell bill, and pick up a few meals. He handed a five dollar bill over to Poe.

"Get me a coffee, and you can get whatever you want with what's leftover."

Poe raised an eyebrow. In his previous life, coffee would have cost a lot more than five dollars. What kind of swill was Scrooge used to drinking? ... The same swill Poe would have to adjust to, he realized.

"Ah, right." He unbuckled himself as well. He would have at least thought Scrooge would make sure Poe didn't see the combination to the lock. It was a lot of trust for a little amount of time. "... I'll be right back."

Honestly, Scrooge hadn't wanted him to see the combination, but if they were going to be working/living together, they'd both need to contribute to the box. And if they worked different shifts, it wasn't safe for Poe to carry large amounts on him.

And if Poe actually thought about it, he'd realize that the number was familiar: the twins' birthday.

The logic had been it was something easy to remember (the De Spells had never made it a secret when it was their birthday, having some grand party that only the elite members of their school could attend) without being related to him. Besides, who would believe he'd guard his money with the birthday of two people who'd made his life hell?

Poe could scarcely believe it himself - although it would made the guilt of stealing it much heavier, should the dirty thought ever cross his mind. A brilliant strategy.

As he bought the coffee - along with a small cookie - he mused that if Magica was in his place, she'd be flailing that this was a sign of Scrooge's "feelings" for her. She was so cute that way...

Damn. He wasn't supposed to be thinking about her. He shook his head, trying to get her out.

"I'm back."

"Thanks." He took the coffee and took a sip. He then raised a brow. "Only a cookie?"

"Yes. Now shut up and eat it."

It was for Scrooge.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject