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

[nevermore_a_duck]

 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. 

Comments

[richestduck]

"Which is why we need to find work as soon as possible. The cashbox won't last forever."

Scrooge popped the car into drive, scanning the signs and storefronts for a secondhand store.

[nevermore_a_duck]

Poe leaned back into the seat. "You're either way too calm about this, or you're much better about hiding your panic than I am."

[richestduck]

"What's panicking going to accomplish right now?" Scrooge countered, still scanning the storefronts.

[nevermore_a_duck]

"I didn't say it'd accomplish a thing." Poe pointed out. "Feelings are rarely rational."

[richestduck]

Scrooge shook his head. "Sorry. Force of habit. Whenever I start panicking, I ask myself if it's going to help the current situation. If not, I force it to the back of my mind to deal with later if I still want to panic."

[nevermore_a_duck]

"... Do you ever deal with it later?" Because Poe sincerely doubted it.

[richestduck]

"Usually I no longer feel like panicking later."

So no.

[nevermore_a_duck]

"Or you've got it shoved down way more layers, and one day, you'll explode." A frightening thought, to be sure.

[richestduck]

Scrooge rolled his eyes as he pulled into a second-hand store. "Hopefully the prices aren't too high here."

[nevermore_a_duck]

"Nor too low," Poe grumbled to himself. A second-hand store... his stomach nearly curdled.

But as the truck came to a stop, Poe managed to compose himself. "Thankfully, I can look good in anything." At least some parts of his narcissism remained intact.

[richestduck]

"We're not here for a fashion show. Pick something out that's versatile," Scrooge told him.

[nevermore_a_duck]

"Just because we're poor doesn't mean we can't turn heads." Poe sniffed after he unbuckled and opened the door. "First impressions are the same up and down the social ladder."

[richestduck]

"I usually work construction or some other menial job," Scrooge stated bluntly. "It's all I'm qualified for."

[nevermore_a_duck]

"But you don't want to stay there in that position forever, do you?" Poe asked, eyebrow raised. "Standing out too much makes you a gaudy eyesore... but standing out just the right amount makes you a notable figure. Someone they'll want to keep an eye on."

[richestduck]

Scrooge raised a skeptical eyebrow. For a long moment, he gazed at Poe before he rolled his eyes. "You're going to keep annoying me about this until I give in, so fine. I'll pick one nice thing to wear."

[nevermore_a_duck]

"I will pick it." Poe insisted. "I sincerely doubt in the years we've spent apart, you've suddenly picked up a sense of fashion."

[richestduck]

"What's wrong with how I dress? It's practical!"

[nevermore_a_duck]

"... That's a word for it." Not the word Poe would use.

"Come along, Scrooge. I'll make a looker out of you yet."

[richestduck]

Scrooge rolled his eyes but followed with huff. He had the money from the cash box with him, but he hoped they weren't going to be spending much.

[nevermore_a_duck]

Poe strolled into the store, with a bit of a hair flip - drama was one of the things he didn't sell - and began to inspect all the various items. Colors, length, stitching... these were the important factors. What could blend in with other pieces, what stood out in a good way?

"Where is the fitting room? We're gunna need it."

[richestduck]

"Um...in the back. There's a curtain for each stall," the girl at the counter said, playing with her hair. It'd been a while since two hot guys had walked in.

[nevermore_a_duck]

"Thank you. Try not to miss us too much." He gave the girl a playful wink, always able to tell when someone was checking him out. A little harmless flirting could help out every now and then - getting them to lower their guard, or lower their prices.

With that, he scooped up his choices and headed for the back. "Let's get started, Scrooge."

[richestduck]

Scrooge looked with some bemusement at the girl's reaction to Poe's flirting but followed Poe to the back.

"I still reserve the right to reject what you put on me."

[nevermore_a_duck]

"Thank you for your faith in me." Poe shoved an armful of clothes into Scrooge' arms. "Now. Try each one on."

[richestduck]

Scrooge hadn't even seen Poe pluck them deftly off the racks. It usually took him forever, looking through prices and styles and usually walking away with nothing to the annoyance of the person at the cash register. Or he might pick up something cheap with the intention of using it to patch holes.

He raised a brow. "I assume you want me to model them for you each time I put one on."