Chapter Text
Della Duck was a lively creature, alright. She had always been mischievous and wild and liked doing things her own way. However, lately she had been spending more time outside the house and arriving home late at night. Donald knew how reckless his sister could be and her recent behavior had him a bit worried. He sure hoped she wasn't causing any trouble. Lately she had been sleeping in late and couldn't be bothered to come down for breakfast until half past noon. Every time she came down late for breakfast, Donald would just give her a silent glare, say nothing, and hand her a plate of soggy eggs that had been sitting on the stove for hours.
"Ugh. Soggy eggs, again?"
"If you don't like it you can make your own breakfast."
Donald cooked her breakfast because he cared. But he didn't have to. She was a grown woman. She could learn how to cook for herself. Della only grumbled and munched stubbornly on the soggy eggs.
"You're on dish-duty today!" he shouted her as she tried to sneakily saunter away. Della grumbled and sprayed a meager amount of soap on the ever-growing pile of dirty dishes.
She hated how serious her brother her was. He needed a little more fun in his life. But every time she tried to get him to 'chillax' he pushed her aside in favor of responsibility.
Donald loved his sister. But she could be so irresponsible, lazy, reckless...the list went on and on. He didn't know how Uncle Scrooge had the energy to put up with her shenanigans.
"Well off to-"
"Nope" her brother brusquely grabbed her shoulder. "Oh, no. You're not leaving this mansion until you complete all your chores! Like a responsible adult."
Della hated how blunt he was.
"Grumble and moan as much as you want, but Uncle Scrooge isn't going to be happy when he comes back from his business trip and sees how much of a pig stye the house has become since he left."
She also hated how right he was.
"Yes, sir. Commander, sir," she responded in an overdramatic sarcastic tone, grabbing the mop Donald held out to her.
Once she had cleaned the mansion top-to-bottom and Donald double-checked to make sure she didn't have any tricks up her sleeves, she was free to go.
She checked the old grandfather clock to see what the time was.
"Oh geez is it that late already?! See ya, Donald!"
Her brother huffed silently as he watched her escape into the night once again.
Where could that bird be off to at this time of night?
Della had been focused so hard on cleaning up the mansion, that she'd lost track of the time in the process. She sure hoped she wouldn't be too late for her nightly rendezvous. She quickly pushed through the back entrance to the old abandoned Duckburg planetarium.
Sure you could say it was a bit redundant to sneak into a planetarium in the middle of the night, but Della could look at the stars anytime. This was the only place she could view a semi-realistic illusion of the moon up-close, and pretend she was a part of it. It was a miracle that the place still had electricity after all these years. She turned her flashlight on and looked around the room.
"Sel? Are you there?"
"You're late."
"Selene? Where are you?"
"Boo!" Selene, the goddess of the moon, jumped out behind her and almost made Della drop her flashlight.
"Selene! You know I don't scare easily."
"But you do startle," the goddess's eyes sparkled with mischief.
Della just flashed an annoyed glance at the taller bird.
"Where have you been? I almost thought you forgot to show up."
"Sorry. My annoying brother held me up a bit. But I'm here now..." Della apologetically ran her fingers through Selene's long sandy hair. Selene shivered a bit at Della's touch.
"I missed you."
"Missed me? It's only been a day, you goof."
"So it has. I still missed you. I miss you every moment we're apart." Selene comfortably coiled her fingers with Della's.
"...stop." Della looked away furiously.
"Alright," Selene was about to yank her hand away but...
"Not that!" Della shrieked, "Not that...those weird...mushy lines...I'M SUPPOSED TO BE THE CORNY ONE!"
Selene just burst out laughing. She couldn't help herself. Her girlfriend was a true gem like no other.
"What's so funny?" Della pouted in embarrassment.
"You're adorable."
"You're adorable!" Della shot right back at her, pointing her finger accusingly.
"Oh, come here," Selene lifted Della up to her level and softly kissed her lips.
Della melted in her arms, and Selene had to hold onto her to make sure Della didn't accidentally sink to the floor.
"Hahaha...love you, babe."
"No I love you, my precious moonflower."
They lay softly in each other's arms, cradled by the artificial starlight above.
They both adored the moon. Of course, Selene did. The moon was her true home. But she could not take Della there, even if she wanted to. It was far too dangerous. The planetarium was the closest Della could be to the real thing. And because they cherished the beyond so much, Selene wanted to do at least this much for her beloved.
Every night they would meet, and keep each other up way past bedtime. The hours whisked away in a flash, but Della made it a point to be back before daylight. She had turned into quite the nocturnal, as of late.
Donald had quite frankly gotten tired of catching her sneaking into the house at 2 am. But she was an adult. He couldn't police her on what she did in her free time. He only hoped she wasn't getting herself mixed up in anything scuzzy.
Early one morning, Donald barged into her room, during her midday snooze. He would have knocked but she was a heavy sleeper and she probably wouldn't have heard it over the sound of her own snores anyway.
"Oh, Della!" He shook her roughly, but she wouldn't budge from that spot. "Della! Earth to Della Duck!" he tried shouting through a megaphone but to no avail. Donald groaned and braced himself, "Dumbella! Wake up!"
Immediately, Della rose from the bed with an unpleasant look on her face. "What wazzat?!" her words slurred, still a bit sleep-dazed.
"You have a phone call." He was secretly hoping that she'd finally started looking for a job, instead of lazing about the house all day, while mooching off their uncle.
"Hmmm..." Della sleepily grabbed the phone from Donald.
"Hey, babe...what's poppin'?" Della tried to rub the sleep from her eyes. "You've never called this early in the day before."
Donald was secretly listening from the other room. Babe? Oh no. She hadn't gotten another girlfriend, had she? That would explain a lot.
"Della...darling...I have something important to tell you. But I'd rather discuss it in person..."
"It can't wait til tonight?"
"I'm afraid not..." Selene's voice sounded a bit shaky.
Although she hadn't gotten much sleep, Della could put that aside for a moment. Her girl was in trouble. Sleep could wait.
"Alright. I'll be right over," Della was wide awake now and she quickly slammed down the old-fashioned telephone.