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“Are you okay?” The voice comes from the only person Lena will allow to disturb her peace. She peeks open one eye to see a slightly concerned look on Webby’s face, upside down from the way she’s laying.
The plane has only been in the air for about 10 minutes, but Lena had staked a claim on the row of seats before they even lifted off. She had made sure everyone was on the plane (and by that she of course means that she only looked for Webby; everyone else can be responsible for themselves) and that Della was in the pilot’s seat instead of Launchpad, then made a beeline for the cushy seats on the second level of the plane, above the cargo pit. She laid down across them, not bothering to save space for anyone else, too exhausted to care.
Now Lena sits up, and Webby takes the open seat offered to her, but as soon as Webby is settled, Lena lays right back down and closes her eyes again, resting her head on Webby’s lap. Webby chuckles.
“I’m fine,” Lena answers her question. “Just tired. I used a lot of magic today. But shouldn’t I be the one asking you that? You’re the one who was kidnapped and… ya know. Life changing revelations and all that. Are you okay?”
“I wouldn’t really call it kidnapping,” Webby avoids the question. “I mean, I went willingly in disguise to try to find out what they were planning. So it was like an undercover mission, really.”
“A mission that no one else knew about, that looked like you were being kidnapped,” Lena says with a hint of bitterness.
Webby lets out a sigh and strokes Lena’s hair gently. “Oh. You were scared.” She doesn’t say it teasingly; Lena is generally guarded with her emotions, especially ones like fear. Webby is simply confirming what she has just realized.
Lena also lets out a sigh. “Remember when we went into Scrooge’s other bin?” She seemingly changes the subject, but Webby nods along - then realizes Lena can't see her and makes a noise of affirmation for her to continue. “I ended up in that awful nightmare room and… I never told you what I saw there.”
“I think I can guess,” Webby replies. “I still remember the way you screamed my name, like I was…”
“Dead,” Lena confirms. “Magica killed you, just to taunt me. It was terrible. Even back then, it was literally my worst nightmare. And today, when I thought you were kidnapped by some supervillain agency so they could do who knows what to you, it was so much worse.”
Lena’s eyes are still closed, but Webby can tell that if they we open, they would be swimming with tears. She takes a shaky breath. “I’m so sorry, Lena. I didn’t mean to worry you. I know it was stupid of me, but it was a spur of the moment thing. I had an opportunity to find out more, so I took it. You know I can handle myself. Plus, I knew you would come for me. Everyone, but especially you,” the hand that isn’t stroking Lena’s hair drifts down to her wrist, her fingers running along the friendship bracelet there. “We’re connected.”
Lena turns over so she’s laying on her back and opens her eyes to look straight up at Webby. Webby gives her a soft smile, with something vulnerable in her face. Lena returns the look with a slightly more watery smile. “Damn, Pink, that was really sappy,” she says, making both girls break into a giggle. Once they calm down, there’s a moment of silence before Lena adds, “You never answered my question. Are you okay?”
“I’m… I don’t know,” Webby admits. “I mean, I think I’m great, actually. A lot of bad things happened today, but everything I learned is actually really amazing. But it’s also complicated, and I have so many questions and things to think about. It’s been such a busy day though; right now I just want to rest. And sit with you, I guess,” she adds, and is Lena blushing?
Lena clears her throat before speaking up. “Yeah, it’s a lot to take in. I get it.” She pauses in thought, then continues, “I mean, I really get it. Like, out of everyone in the world, I think I get it the most. The whole ‘being created by some villain in order to take down Scrooge McDuck, but it massively backfired and you somehow ended up as part of his family’ thing.”
Webby seems to brighten. “Yeah, I guess we have more in common than we thought!” she exclaims with a smile, and Lena smiles back.
“Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, when you’re ready to think about it, I’m here. If you ever want to talk it through. I mean, I’m here for you for anything, Pink,” she says, seeming a bit flustered. Her own hand drifts to the friendship bracelet on her wrist, and her fingers brush against Webby’s, who never took her hand away. Webby glances down at the contact, sliding her hand into Lena’s and twining their fingers together.
“Lena, can I ask you something?”
“You just did,” she replies sarcastically, trying to bring some lightheartedness back into their conversation. Webby just rolls her eyes.
“What did you mean when you said ‘even back then’? You said that even back then, me dying was your worst nightmare. What did you mean by that?”
Lena looks awkward, like she doesn’t know how to respond. She swings her legs to the side and breaks her hand away from Webby’s in order to sit up, but thankfully she slips her hand back into Webby’s once she’s repositioned in her seat, turned toward the other girl. “I don’t know, Webs,” she sighs, but it’s unconvincing. Webby just raises an eyebrow, so Lena gives a better answer. “I wasn’t exactly good back then. I mean, I was starting to realize that I didn’t want to, but I was still working for Magica.”
“You were being manipulated and possessed. I wouldn’t call that ‘working for’ her. We’ve been over this before,” Webby says sternly.
“Whatever,” Lena says with all her typical feigned indifference. There’s a pause, like she’s debating what to say next. “It’s just, my feelings for you were different back then. Actually, that night, the thing with the nightmare, is when I realized that my feelings for you had changed.” She looks down, not meeting Webby’s eye, and yup, she’s definitely blushing. Webby’s eyes widen.
“Changed, how?” She asks, barely above a whisper. Lena is used to Webby being loud and enthusiastic, optimistic and confident in everything she does. But she’s been so reserved this entire time. It’s either a testament to how emotionally draining this day has been, or how deep this conversation has gotten.
“Change like…” Lena still won’t meet her eye as she admits, “Liking you as more than a friend.”
“I love you!” Webby bursts, cracking open the subdued tone of their conversation. Her eyes are bright, and she has a huge smile plastered across her beak, and there she is, the typical Webby that Lena had been expecting. Lena can’t help but smile back as Webby rambles, “Ohmygosh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have blurted that out. I just ruined the mood, didn’t I? People don’t usually just declare love like that, that was totally-“
Lena laughs and squeezes her hand to cut her off. “It’s okay, Pink. You didn’t ruin the mood. I mean, it would’ve ruined the mood if you said you didn’t like me like that. And, uh, for what it’s worth, I love you too,” she says, keeping her voice low, almost shy.
“Really?” Webby asks, so hopeful. Lena rolls her eyes.
“Of course, dummy. You literally brought me back from the dead with the power of love. We kinda have something special here, Webs.”
“Wow,” Webby whispers reverently. “So, then, will you be my girlfriend?” she asks. Lena rolls her eyes and smirks, but there's nothing mean behind the gesture as she nods her answer. Then Webby gasps as a realization hits her, and she asks another question. “Can I kiss you?”
She looks so hopeful, and honestly Lena feels hopeful too, which makes her answer sad for both of them. Lena darts her eyes to the side, glancing across the plane. At their audience. “I’m not saying no, but can we maybe wait to have our first kiss somewhere private? Without our siblings watching?”
Webby turns to follow Lena’s gaze, only to see her brothers and Lena’s sister watching them intently from the seats on the other side of the cargo pit. Immediately, Louie and Violet turn toward each other and pretend to be talking, Huey hides his face behind his Junior Woodchuck Guidebook, and Dewey pulls out a yoyo and manages to get his hands tangled in string in a matter of milliseconds. In short, they all act as if they haven’t just been eavesdropping on a very personal conversation. Webby sticks her tongue out at them quickly, then turns back to Lena.
“That’s okay. Even without a kiss, this is the best day of my life,” Webby says, throwing herself in to hug Lena.
So everything is perfect. They stay like that, cuddled up on the plane seats for a little while, until Lena starts to fall asleep again, and Webby decides to let her lay back down. She really does need her rest, having kept an entire plane invisible for an extended amount of time and then doing more magical fighting after that.
Webby squeezes Lena’s hand before leaving her to sleep and making her way down into the cargo hold, where she meets up with Scrooge, who’s suddenly being weirdly overprotective.
And then everything goes crazy, as she honestly should have expected it would. There’s no such thing as a normal plane ride with this family. The cargo door is flung open, and everyone gets pulled out through the opening. It should be scary, but honestly it’s kinda fun. Maybe she really is just overly tired from the day, but Webby starts laughing maniacally.
She glances at the people falling all around her, taking in their wide range of responses, from terror, to indifference, to enjoyment that rivals her own. She spots her brothers, and she plans to go join them. But first, she wants to check in with Lena. When she finally spots her, the teen looks annoyed more than anything else. With some maneuvering, Webby manages to get close to her, and they stretch their hands until they grab hold of each other. Their bodies are both horizontal, but with a little strength, they’re able to position themselves upright, so they’re falling feet first, still holding hands.
“It’s always something, isn’t it?” Lena gripes. “I was having a really good dream, too.”
“Oh yeah?” Webby asks. “About what?”
Lena blushes again, but doesn’t hesitate as she says, “I was dreaming about finally kissing my girlfriend.”
Webby squeals. Then she glances around. Holding onto each other the way they are, she and Lena have gotten separated from most of the group. Plus, everyone is pretty preoccupied with their own free fall situation. “No one’s watching now,” she points out.
It’s the best first kiss ever.