Chapter Text
Kenny was just settling into his favorite comfy chair to watch some old-timey law movie Lee had recommended when he heard a knock at the front door.
Who on earth would be coming by this late in the evening? Katjaa was pulling a late night at the vet clinic, and she would’ve told him if any of her friends were dropping by. Lee, Carley, and Clem were on some fancy ski vacation in the Blue Ridge Mountains, so it wasn’t any of them. And all of Kenny’s other friends had their own plans tonight.
Grumbling under his breath, Kenny pulled himself out of the chair and left the den, walking over to the door.
Another, more impatient knock made him huff as he reached down to unlock it.
“Hold your horses,” Kenny said as he opened the door. “I’m right here-”
Standing in front of him, the very picture of disrespect with her hands in her pockets and an uninterested look on her face, was Duck’s new girlfriend, Becca. She wore a thick brown jacket and dark jeans to keep out the winter air.
“Hey there,” Becca said lazily, still not taking her hands out of her pockets.
Kenny huffed again. He hadn’t approved ever since Duck first told him about her, and every time he saw Becca he was reminded why.
“Hey there, kid,” Kenny returned, making sure to emphasize that last word.
Sure enough, the girl couldn’t quite hide her scowl, and Kenny resisted the urge to smirk.
“Where’s Duck?” Becca asked immediately, trying to look around Kenny into the hallway behind him.
“What, no ‘how are you, nice to see you’?” Kenny asked sarcastically.
Becca ignored his words, looking at him expectantly.
“Duck!” Kenny turned to yell up the stairs. “That girl of yours is here for ya!”
“Awesome!” Duck yelled back. “I’ll be down in a few minutes!”
He turned back to Becca just in time to catch the end of an eye roll, and Kenny narrowed his eyes. “What’re you doing here, anyways?” he asked, crossing his arms.
“We’re going on a date,” Becca said simply, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.
Kenny shuddered to think of what Becca would consider to be a date. Trespassing on private property for a picnic? Shoplifting together? Keying someone’s car?
“That so?” Kenny raised an eyebrow. “Y’know, back in my day, it was the guy who picked up the girl at her house. Not the other way around.”
“Your day?” Becca scoffed,’ abandoning all pretense of civility. “When was that, 1865? Times change, old man. It was my idea, so I’m the one who came over.”
“You oughta watch your mouth, girl,” Kenny snapped back. “That kinda disrespect ain’t gonna get you nowhere.”
Becca smirked. “It got me a date with your son, didn’t it?”
“You little-”
“Becca!”
Kenny turned to see Duck bounding down the stairs, a wide smile on his face as he reached the bottom. He wore a black t-shirt with a cartoonish skull and a pair of khaki pants.
Sweeping over to his girlfriend, Duck pulled Becca into a tight hug. The girl finally took her hands out of her pockets as she returned it, resting her head on his shoulder.
“I wasn’t expecting you so-” Duck began as he pulled back, only to be cut off as Becca yanked him forwards into a kiss.
Like his father wasn’t standing right there.
This girl… Kenny growled internally as he waited for them to finish.
Five seconds passed… then another five…
Kenny cleared his throat. Becca immediately placed a hand on the back of Duck’s neck to bring him even deeper into the kiss.
Oh, this girl knew exactly what she was doing.
At long last, Becca released Duck, who had a big, dopey grin, from the embrace. Her face was flushed red, but she wore a satisfied smirk as she glanced at Kenny, as if daring him to say anything about it.
He just might’ve, if Duck hadn’t turned that smile towards him. No matter how much Becca infuriated him, he could never say no to that face…
“You got your phone and your wallet?” Kenny asked as Duck pulled on a coat.
He was always losing ‘em or leaving ‘em behind, so it was an important question to ask.
Duck shoved his hands into his pockets for a moment searchingly, then nodded brightly. “Yep!”
“Oh, you won’t need the wallet; I’m paying tonight,” Becca said with a challenging look in Kenny’s direction.
“Are you sure?” Duck looked genuinely concerned, and Kenny was proud to see he’d at least managed to turn him into something of a gentleman. “I don’t mind. I can pay-”
“It’s fine,” Becca rolled her eyes, already beginning to drag Duck out the door. “Let’s just go, I wanna get there before it gets dark.”
“Hold on a second,” Kenny said, stepping forward. “Where exactly are you-?”
The door slammed in Kenny’s face.
After a few seconds of weighing the worth of his dignity versus running outside to demand an answer from Becca before they left, Kenny finally sighed and returned to the den.
Hopefully this movie was as good as Lee said it was, because Kenny could definitely use something to take his mind off of Duck’s disrespectful, rude, delinquent of a girlfriend…
“Are you and dad not… getting along?” Duck asked nervously as Becca pulled out of the driveway onto the road.
Becca was prepared to just dismiss the question, until she saw the worry in Duck’s face.
“It’s fine,” Becca shrugged. “I just don’t think he likes me very much.”
That much was obvious. The old redneck was probably having a hernia right now over the idea of the girl paying for a date.
Maybe she’d been trying to provoke him a little, but so what? He was the one who’d had it out for her ever since they met. Becca was just fighting back.
Weren’t old-fashioned dads like him supposed to obsess over their daughters going on dates, not their sons? What a weirdo.
And don’t even get Becca started on that neighbor kid. If Duck wasn’t always going on about how they were practically siblings, she’d think Clementine wanted him all for herself, with all the dark looks and threats and junk.
“Oh,” Duck said quietly. “Well, I guess you can be a little…”
“Can be a little what?” Becca flashed a glare his way.
“Nothing!” Duck’s eyes widened as he smiled sheepishly. “You’re great! Anyone should love you!”
“Good boy,” Becca smirked as her eyes went back to the road. She had him trained well.
“Hmm…” Duck hummed audibly, then perked up. “I got it! You should come to dinner some night! Get to know my parents!”
It was only Becca’s natural icy-cool demeanor that kept her from putting the car in a ditch.
“No!” Becca yelped, only to cringe as Duck looked at her with concern.
Calm down, Becca. You’re too cool for that. You’re a badass, and you do not yelp. You make firm declarations.
…What was this boy even doing to her that she was acting like this?
“I mean… I don’t know,” Becca said after a moment. “I’m not trying to impress your parents. I just want to impress you.”
Just as planned, Duck smiled all gooey-soft at her words.
Hehehe. Perfect recovery as always, Becca.
“I know, Bec’,” Duck said kindly. “But… my parents are really important to me. I love them, and I want them to like you.”
Stay strong, Becca, she warned herself. Whatever you do, do not…
But it was too late. Becca looked at Duck’s smile, and her shoulders slumped as her heart went all melty or something sappy like that.
She could never say no to that face, no matter how much she wanted to.
“Okay,” Becca sighed. “I’ll come to dinner some night.”
“That’s awesome!” Duck grinned, and Becca couldn’t help but smile in return.
…She really was screwed, wasn’t she?