Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Waltz: Get to know each other, ballroom-style.

Louie didn’t expect to see the psychotic heir anytime soon, but less than a month after they first met, he made an unexpected appearance at the charity fundraiser the McDuck family was attending.

“Llewelyn.”

“AHHH!” The green-suited duckling spun around, immediately glaring at the person behind him. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.  And how did you know THAT name?”

“I have my sources,” commented Doofus Drake.  He was dressed in a black suit with a pink shirt, and looked far too comfortable being out at a social gathering, considering he and his parents had avoided them in the past.

“You mean you got one of your parents to find out for you,” said Louie, crossing his arms over his chest.

Doofus smirked, taking a step forward. “You are very smart, Llewelyn.”

“Don’t call me that,” the youngest triplet ordered, his glare deepening.  Behind them, the band began to play a slow, romantic tune.

“Alright,” Doofus agree, grabbing Louie’s hand unexpectedly.  “But only if you agree to be my dance partner.”

“Your dance partner?” Louie repeated, his voice tinged with suspicion.

Doofus pulled the shorter duck close, resting his free hand on the younger boy’s waist. “Yes, for the rest of the night.”

“The rest of the night!” Louie yelped.  As Doofus began to swing him into a slow dance, he found himself grabbing onto the older boy’s shoulder.  “Wait, why are you leading!”

Doofus Drake went from being a reclusive heir, to a high society darling.  The reporters couldn’t get enough of him.  And, of course, he made sure to snatch Louie up every single time there was dancing to be done.  On that particular evening, Doofus was waiting by the snack table, keeping his eyes peeled for the arrival of his favorite triplet.  It didn’t occur to him that they may have arrived earlier than he did, and that he simply hadn’t spotted them.  In fact, he was just about to bite into a juicy finger sandwich when a certain someone approached him from behind.

“Doofus Drake. I should have known you’d be here.”

Doofus’ eyes landed on a blue suit jacket as he turned around. Ah, Louie’s brother… the middle triplet, if he recalled correctly. “You must be Dewey Duck.  It’s a pleasure to see you again.”

“The pleasure is all yours, I’m sure,” Dewey snarked back, his eyes narrowed at the older duckling.

Doofus couldn’t help but laugh.  Now he remembered him properly.  “Ah, yes, you’re the funny one.”

“Listen, Doofus, I don’t know what your intentions are, but stay away from my brother,” Dewey threatened, lifting off his heels in an attempt to seem bigger than he was. 

How amusing, Doofus thought to himself.  The smaller duck was as menacing as a kitten.  Still, it would be fun to play along.  “You don’t want me to dance with your brother tonight?”

“Exactly,” the blue-clad duck said, nodding.

“Then you’re offering to be my dance partner,” Doofus confirmed, smirking.

“Exact… Wait, WHAT?”

Doofus grabbed the middle triplet’s hand, and pulled him close.  He couldn’t wait to see Llewelyn’s face when he saw them dancing. 

“So, what’s happening?” Louie asked, adjusting his suit jacket as he came out of the bathroom.  So far, he hadn’t caught a single glimpse of his stalker, but he knew it was only a matter of time. 

“Not much,” Huey informed him. “But Dewey is dancing with Doofus for some strange reason.”

“WHAT?!”

“Dewey… Doofus,” a familiar voice announced.  The pair turned to see Louie spinning Huey into a twirl, all the while glaring directly at the Drake heir.  “Mind if we cut in?” After a sudden twist, Dewey found himself hand in hand with his older brother.  Huey smiled weakly back at him as Louie dragged Doofus away. 

“New rule.  No more dancing with my brothers,” Louie insisted, allowing Doofus to take the lead.

Doofus spun his partner, and dipped him low, smirking as he said, “Because it gets you jealous.”  He could have sworn the smaller duck’s eyes flared, even as Louie’s hand wrapped around his neck, pulling him close.

“Because if anyone in my family has to deal with your unique brand of crazy, it will be me,” Louie hissed into his ear.

Doofus felt a shiver of want curl up his spine as he pulled his partner back up, and continued to lead him around the dance floor. Yes, he’d made the right choice for a future boyfriend.  And Louie WOULD agree to be his boyfriend, someday. 

Chapter Text

Doofus glanced around the room, but the only triplet to be seen was the red-suited one.  Perhaps it was finally time to put his plan into action.  Slipping closer, he noted that Huey was in the middle of a rather boring conversation with an equally boring politician.  Time to play the hero, and sweep him off to the dance floor.

“You know Louie’s going to be furious when he sees us, don’t you?” the red-clad duck stated, frowning up at him.

“Of course, I do.  He’s cute when he’s mad,” Doofus informed his soon-to-be dance partner.  At the very least, the eldest triplet didn’t try to glare him to death — like a certain someone he could name. 

The smaller duck shrugged, and allowed himself to be pulled along.  “It’s your funeral.”

“May we CUT in,” a familiar voice asked. 

Doofus immediately spun Huey around until they were both able to see Louie and his dance partner… Wait, why was Louie dancing with HIM?  Oh well.  Dropping the elder triplet’s hand, he extended it toward his future boyfriend, only to have it snatched by Louie’s dance partner, instead.

“Why yes, I would love to dance,” Scrooge told him, switching positions so that HE was leading their little waltz.  Louie, in the meantime, had already pulled his older brother close, and was dancing away with him. Doofus frowned as he caught sight of the smirk on Louie’s face, but before he could react, the elderly billionaire leading him along leaned down to whisper, “Let’s take this out onto the terrace, laddie.  We need to talk.”

“So, it seems that you’ve been getting close to my great-nephew.  What are your intentions toward Louie?” Scrooge asked, eyeing him harshly.

“I want to date him someday,” Doofus answered honestly.  Perhaps that wasn’t the best thing to say, as it caused the billionaire to spit out a muffled laugh. 

“Well, at least you have your own fortune,” Scrooge finally said, straightening back up.  He leaned back against the railing, his eyes riveted on the window that separated them from the party and dancers inside the building. "I heard about your grandmother’s passing.  Sorry, lad.  She was a lovely lady.”

Doofus looked away, a lump rising in his throat.  No one dared to talk to him about his gummeemama, not since the funeral. 

“You know, there’s nothing wrong with asking for help.  Losing a loved one is difficult, but having money is no excuse for not getting the support that you need.  If you intend to pursue my great-nephew, I would suggest taking some time to talk things out with a therapist,” Scrooge suggested, glancing at the young heir.

“I… I should probably do that,” Doofus admitted, wrapping his arms around himself. 

“Good on yah, lad.  Now you’re making grown up choices.  The boys told me about their adventure.  And Louie mentioned that you had some… anger issues to work out.  I hope, for your sake, that you do get help.  I wouldn’t want my boy to get hurt, because you lost your temper,” the billionaire insisted. On an afterthought, he added, “Louie would never admit it, but he’s the most sensitive of the three.  He needs a partner who will protect him, not one that will try to take advantage of him.”

“Sensitive?  Really?  I suppose I do need to get to know him more,” Doofus decided, rubbing his chin as he thought.

“Good idea.  Best to build a relationship on mutual love, trust, and affection,” Scrooge insisted, patting him on the shoulder.  “Now, I believe we’ve left the boys to their own devices long enough, don’t you think?”

The moment he and Scrooge returned to the celebration, the youngest triplet pounced.  Grabbing him by the hand, Louie dragged him away from the billionaire, and onto the dance floor. “I told you not to flirt with my brothers,” Louie stated, glaring up at him. 

Doofus couldn’t help but smirk at the jealousy sparking in the petite teenager’s dark eyes. “Actually, you told me not to dance with them…”

“Which you did,” Louie informed him abruptly, while ‘accidentally’ stepping on his foot.

“Which I did,” Doofus begrudgingly agreed.  “But you didn’t tell me not to flirt with your brothers.”

“It’s the same thing,” the green-clad duck hissed back. 

“But you’re alright with me flirting with you,” the heir to the Drake fortune continued, giving his date a wink.

Louie gave him a deadpan look.  “I already answered that.”

Doofus sighed dejectedly as he loosened his hold on the other duck.  “Well, if you’d rather I flirted with someone else…”  As expected, the youngest McDuck heir did not appreciate that particular thought.  Doofus found himself being tugged into the shadows of the grand staircase, where his dance partner proceeded to drag him close, pressing their beaks together.  After all these years, the young Drake hadn’t expected Louie to be the one to initiate their first kiss.

“The only one you flirt with — is ME,” the triplet asserted, once they parted for air.

“If you insist,” Doofus all but purred, wrapping his arms around the shorter duck.  Their little makeout session ended the moment his hand drifted a bit too low.

“Doofus, we’re still in public,” Louie said, his voice coming out as a panicked whisper as he yanked Doofus' hand back up to his waist. 

“Sorry,” the older teen said, surprised that he truly meant it.  He LIKED Louie.  Sure, it started as a game.  It was fun to see how riled up the little duck could get.  But now that they were older, Doofus was beginning to suspect that this thing between them might become far more serious than just being dance partners or casual boyfriends.  Not that they were even officially dating, as of yet.    

“We should… get back to the party before anyone realizes we’re missing,” Louie said, the redness on his cheeks clearly visible, even in the shadows of the staircase.

“You’re right.  We wouldn’t want to cause a scene,” Doofus agreed, leading his date back to the dance floor.

Chapter Text

Louie paused, his finger inches away from the doorbell in front of him.  Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself, and pressed the button.  An echoing ring went could be heard from inside the mansion, but after several long minutes, Louie pressed the button again.  It wasn’t until he was about to press it a third time, that the door before him opened, and the person he came to see stepped out.

“Louie?”

“Oh… I didn’t expect you to answer the door yourself.  I thought your butler… er, your father would…” Louie trailed off, his gaze darting around.

“Father and mother are out.  They’re no longer working as servants.  My therapist has been working me through some… stuff,” Doofus admitted, glancing away. 

“You’re seeing a therapist?  That’s good news.  You haven’t been at the last few events, so I wondered if something had happened,” the youngest triplet said, shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets.

An amused look came over Doofus’ face as he leaned forward. “You were worried about me?”

“What?” Louie scoffed, unable to make eye contact for long.  “Of course not.  I just wanted to make sure you didn’t catch the plague or something.”

“You were worried about me,” Doofus confirmed, smiling. 

Panic drifted over Louie’s face as he stammered, “Yeah, well, you’re clearly fine, so I’m gonna go…”

Doofus put a hand on the other boy’s arm, freezing him in his tracks. “You could stay…” Louie glanced up at the house, and then back at him, clearly unnerved.  Ah, yes, Doofus recalled.  The triplet hadn’t actually been inside his home since the day they first met.  “No friendship bracelets, this time. I promise.”

Louie visibly relaxed.  “I suppose I could stay… for a bit.”

The sun was setting on the horizon when Louie finally stated that he should be heading home.  They’d had a rather fun afternoon together.  It was the first time that Doofus had had a true friend in his home, without pressuring them to be there.  It was nice.

“You could stay,” Doofus said, without really thinking.  They were both 15 going on 16, so it shouldn’t be that big of a deal to have a sleepover.

The triplet stared at him, wide-eyed.  Then he glanced away, clearly nervous. “I don’t think I’m ready for that yet.”

Doofus immediately blushed.  Oh.  That wasn’t what he was trying to imply.  They weren’t even officially dating yet.  “I didn’t mean…”

Louie’s gaze darted back to him. “It's fine... We are dating now, right?” he asked, his voice soft and uncertain.

“Yes.  I mean, if you want to,” the older duck said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. 

“I’m not ready to race into anything yet, but I’d like to… be your boyfriend,” Louie admitted. 

Doofus smiled, unable to contain his joy.  Holding out his hand, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest when the youngest triplet took it, smiling back at him.  The walk back to the front door was far too short, and the older teen was hesitant to let his new boyfriend go.  Part of him wanted to lock the little duck away, and keep him safe forever.  A larger part, thankfully, realized how futile that thought was.  He wanted Louie safe and happy, and he’d never be those things without the freedom to choose his own future.

“You’re awfully quiet, Doofus.  You do realize that we live next door to each other.  Granted, it’s the rich peoples’ next door, so it’s like a twenty minute walk,” Louie said, gesturing to the long road stretching beyond the doorway. 

“Are you inviting me over to your place?” Doofus asked, eager to clarify. 

“As long as you stop trying to flirt with my brothers, and only flirt with me,” the youngest triplet stated. 

A laugh bubbled up inside of him, and Doofus felt tears of happiness prickle at his eyes. “I can agree to that.  Although, it is fun to see you get jealous.”

“Jealousy can go both ways.  You’d better be at the next society event, or I may say yes to another boy wanting me to dance,” Louie replied, smirking up at him.

“Then I’d better be there,” the elder teen agreed.  Their faces were drifting closer to together.  When would be the right time to… OH!”  Louie had made the first move, again, standing on his tiptoes to press their beaks together.  The kiss was over before Doofus even had a chance to try to pull his new boyfriend closer. 

“So, um… See you later,” Louie said, darting down the stairs.  He paused in the driveway, and waved back, before taking a more leisurely pace. 

Doofus watched him until he was out of sight around the corner.  “Louie’s my boyfriend,” he whispered to himself, unable to resist the goofy grin that was spreading over his face.  “LOUIE AGREED TO BE MY BOYFRIEND!”

Chapter Text

Doofus smirked as he answered the door.  “Louie, how are…” The smile dropped as he took in the shaken look on his boyfriend’s face.  The younger teen’s gaze had flickered to the ground the moment they made eye contact, but the tear marks were still visible on his cheeks.

“Doof… I…” the young McDuck heir couldn’t seem to get the words out, so Doofus was quick to wrap his arm around his waist. 

“Come in.”  It didn’t take long to walk to the couch that now sat beneath his dearest aunt’s portrait.  Encouraging the other boy to take a seat, he quickly slipped across the room to the mini fridge to pull out a bottle of spring water. As he sat back down next to Louie, he handed the offering to him, watching in silence as the younger boy took several deep gulps from the bottle.

“Who do I have to financially ruin?” Doofus asked, his voice dripping with anger.

“What?” Louie’s eyes snapped up, his voice startled. “No.  It’s just… stupid family stuff,” the triplet explained, wiping his eyes.

Doofus quickly wrapped an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders to pull him close. “If it’s bothering you this much, it’s not stupid.”

Louie took in a deep breath, running his free hand through his front lock of hair, mussing it up in the process.  “It’s just… Dewey’s been hiding some stuff about our mom.  I’m his brother.  We’re not supposed to keep secrets from each other!”

Doofus nodded, his eyes filled with concern as he gazed down at his closest companion.

“It doesn’t matter if he thinks mom did something BAD. She’s our mother!  If she’s alive, we should be trying to find her — Together,” Louie insisted, before his words were swallowed by tears.

The heir of the Drake fortune was uncertain how to properly handle this kind of interaction, but he tried to be as supportive and comforting as possible.  Pulling his boyfriend closer, he held on tightly as the other boy sobbed into his shirt, soaking it with his tears.

“It’s okay, Lou.  You’re completely right.  Your brother should have told you,” Doofus whispered reassuringly, rubbing his chin against the younger duck’s hair. 

“Doofie,” Louie finally whispered, glancing up at him.  His dark eyes were still filled with tears even as he tried to seal their beaks together, his fingers finding their way to Doofus’ belt buckle.

“No,” Doofus insisted, pushing the other duck back.  “Not like this.  Not when you’re upset.”  He wanted Louie, he really and truly did, but not when he was emotionally compromised.  Their first time would be consensual and wonderful and repeatable, if Doofus had anything to say about it.

“It’s just… it’s just not FAIR!” Louie finally shouted, breaking down again.

“I know.  I know,” Doofus sighed, once again pulling his sensitive boyfriend close. “Wanna go upstairs and watch a movie?”

Louie sniffed, but pulled away, nodding.  Linking hands, Doofus led his boyfriend into the elevator, and up to the penthouse suite.

The movie was rolling the credits when the doorbell rang.  Glancing down at his boyfriend’s head, which was resting on his leg, Doofus gave a light, frustrated groan.  Moving slowly, he shifted until Louie’s head was nestled on the couch cushion, and then he made his way to the elevator.  It didn’t take a genius to figure out who was knocking at his door.

Sure enough, the other two ducks that made up the Duck triplets were pacing on his doorstep, waiting for him to let them in.

“Hey, Doofus.  Have you seen Louie?” the blue-clad duck was the first to ask.  Doofus’ eyes narrowed in response, his body taking up the majority of the doorway.  Dewey backed up a step, chuckling nervously, “I’ll take that as a yes.  He was upset, wasn’t he…”

“Of course, he was,” Huey announced, shooting his younger brother a glare.  Redirecting his attention to the Doofus, he whole-heartedly asked, “Can we take Louie home now?”

“He’s sleeping,” stated Doofus, remembering the weight of his boyfriend’s head on his lap.  Louie was so cute when he was sleeping — actually, he was always cute. 

“Doofus, he’s our brother,” Dewey said, but his tone suggested that he was clearly uncomfortable with actually begging the Drake heir for anything.

Huey, on the other hand, was quick to plead, "Please, Doofus.  He was really upset.  We need to see him."

Doofus groaned internally.  Darn these triplets — it’s a good thing they don’t know how cute they are.  My heart belongs to Llewelyn, but the three of them are freakin’ adorable.  “Come in,” he finally sighed, stepping away from the door. The pair lit up like Christmas lights as they raced past him.  Shutting the door behind them, the young heir refused to rush as they made their way up the elevator to his personal suite.

“What’s going on?” Louie asked, rubbing his eyes as Doofus stepped into the theatre room. 

“Your brothers…” Doofus began, only to be cut off as the pair slipped past him. 

“Louie!” Huey was the first to throw his arms around their little brother, hugging him close. 

Dewey, on the other hand, hung back, watching his brothers with guilt-filled eyes.  “I’m sorry I lied to you.  Both of you.  I should have told you the truth a long time ago.”

Louie frown twisted upward, even as he held out his other arm for Dewey to join their sibling hug. “I forgive you.”

Doofus stopped a few feet away from the couch, content to watch the triplets reconnect.

“Let’s go home,” Dewey finally said, actually throwing Doofus a grateful smile over his brothers’ shoulders.

Louie pulled away from the hug, and slipped an arm around his boyfriend’s waist.  “I have a better idea.”

“Best sleepover ever!” Huey yelled, hunkering down on the red sleeping bag in front of the television.

“I can’t believe you have sleeping bags in our colors.  That’s… not creepy at all,” Dewey said, his eyes darting to Doofus, and then away just as quickly.

“I just figured Louie would want a sleepover eventually. I can’t say I expected it to start out the way it did, but here we are now,” Doofus explained, taking a seat on his own sleeping bag that was pulled up, not-suspiciously, next to Louie’s.  And the sleeping bag wasn’t pink, it was salmon.

“I can’t believe we doubted you, Doofus,” Huey said, giving the older teen a genuine smile.  “I have to admit, we were worried you were just, you know, stalking Louie for… well, not so nice reasons.”

“I still think he’s hanging out with Louie for THOSE reasons,” Dewey grumbled, giving Doofus a deadpan look.

“You wound me,” the heir to the Drake fortune sighed, pressing a hand to his heart. “Why, if I truly did desire Louie only for unsavory things, I would be trying to keep all three of you.”

“EW!”

“Doofus, stop flirting with my brothers.” Louie insisted, handing his boyfriend a bowl of popcorn.  He quickly passed Dewey the other bowl. 

“But they’re almost as cute as you, my lovely Llewelyn,” Doofus sighed, batting his eyelashes in an exaggerated manner.

“Wait, what?” Dewey said, his astonished gaze darting back and forth between the lovebirds.

Louie shoved his boyfriend, nearly spilling the popcorn. “Knock it off.  You know I hate my full name." 

As the pair began to lightly bicker, Huey and Dewey exchanged exasperated looks, and switched on the TV.  “We’d better not be this weird when we start dating,” Dewey grumbled, propping his chin on his hand.

“I’ve seen the way you look at Webby,” Huey commented, wiggling his eyebrows at his middle brother.

“And I’ve seen the way you look at that Beagle Boy,” Dewey shot back.

Huey gasped. “He is nothing like his family.  He’s a genuine Woodchuck, through and through.”

“Wait!  What’s this about Huey having a crush?” Louie interrupted, now laying on his front to smirk at his eldest brother.

“It’s not a crush!” Huey insisted, crossing his arms over his chest in annoyance. Dewey and Louie exchanged a meaningful look. 

“Alright, we’ll leave you alone… for now,” Louie said, turning his attention to the movie that was beginning to play. 

Morning came too quickly for Doofus Drake. After an elaborate breakfast, ordered from the hottest new restaurant in town, the triplets were ready to leave.

“Thanks for the sleepover, Doofus.  Let’s do it again sometime,” Huey chirped, waving as he strode out the door. 

“Yeah, I guess it was alright.  You’re not such a bad guy, after all,” Dewey said, holding out a hand.  Doofus took it, only to find himself pulled forward so that the smaller duck could whisper ominously in his ear.  “If you hurt our brother, I will end you.”  Just as quickly, the middle triplet stepped back, smiling as if nothing had happened.  He soon followed his older brother out the door.

“You guys go on ahead; I’ll catch up,” Louie insisted, stepping out onto the marble stoop. 

“Oooh, are you and Doofus gonna smooch?” Huey teased, grinning cheekily over his shoulder.

Dewey rolled his eyes, and grabbed his older brother by the arm to tug him down the long driveway. “If you are, we really don’t want to see it.”  

“So… that went well,” Doofus finally said, once he was sure his boyfriend’s brothers were out of earshot.   

Louie chuckled fondly, his mood dramatically improved from the day before. “I have to agree,” the youngest triplet said, slipping his arm through Doofus’ own.  Leaning his head against the older boy’s shoulder, they enjoyed the view of the estate in comfortable silence.  

“So… wanna come for lunch tomorrow, and get to know the rest of my family?  You still haven’t met my Uncle Donald, or Mrs. Beakley, or Webby… or our ghost butler,” Louie said, grinning up at the taller boy. 

“I believe I can free up my schedule,” Doofus stated, with an answering smile. “Wait… you have a ghost butler?”

The triplet just laughed, giving him a quick nuzzle against the arm, before entwining their fingers together. “Care to walk me to the gate?”

“I’d escort you anywhere, my sweet,” the young millionaire replied, feeling his heart fill with warmth at his boyfriend’s trust and affection.

“You flatterer,” said Louie, his smile as bright as the sun.  And if they happened to share a few leisurely kisses along the way, that was between the two of them.