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Huey had been quiet all day. He knew he was worrying everyone, but he couldn't bring himself to speak. It was one of those days.
Those days where it felt like pulling teeth trying to open his mouth, those days where it felt like his tongue was weighed down by an anchor, those days where it felt like an uphill battle just to smile at someone. He had a lot of those days since moving into the mansion.
Everyone tried to help him out, to get him to talk, but his brothers were the only ones who understood that nothing could get him to talk on those days. They were content to let him work through whatever was bothering him on his own and be there in case he needed them. Uncle Donald was the only one who acted like everything was normal.
That was why Huey always ended up hovering around him on those days. He needed to feel like he was normal, for someone to treat him like he was normal, like it wasn't weird not to talk for an entire day. It wasn't, he knew it wasn't. He was just wired differently.
And his Uncle knew that well. After all, he was the one who gave Huey that phrase.
"Okay, should we start on dinner now?" Huey nodded. "I was thinking burgers, sound good?" Huey nodded again and started getting out what they needed. His Uncle rubbed his head and took some stuff from him. "Think Dewey and Louie would be up to joining us?" That got a smile out of Huey, his first of the day. He could always count on his brothers to cheer him up. Even if they weren't around.
But he could always count on his Uncle to know exactly what he needed. And on days like these, it really made a difference.
Dewey was stubborn, he could admit that to himself. He was also impulsive, and those two things didn't mix. At all. It got him into trouble more often than not, and it worried his family more than he was comfortable with. But he couldn't control himself, he was always running head first into something, always convinced he could do it, and the lesson that he couldn't never seemed to stick.
Something terrible was bound to happen. And of course, it had to be on an adventure.
He ran ahead, again, and triggered a trap he had no way of seeing. But before it could do anything his name was being shouted and he was being tackled out of the way. Dewey sat in his Uncle's arms in stunned silence as spikes shot out from the floor in front of them.
That, was a close one. Too close.
He started trembling and before he knew what was happening, his Uncle Donald was rocking and shushing him. Dewey didn't even realize he started crying.
He was just so tired of this happening! Why did he never learn?! Why did he keep doing this?! ....Why was he so stupid sometimes?
"You're okay. You're okay." His Uncle kept repeating, probably trying to reassure himself as well as Dewey. "You didn't know."
"I should have!" Dewey protested.
"You're still learning, it's okay. You'll get there eventually, and I'll be here to keep you safe until you do." But that's not... that's not what the others usually say. They usually berate him, usually say he should know better by now. Usually only his brothers noticed how shaken up he was after he did something like this, and they never reacted like this. So why was Uncle Donald...?
He didn't know, but it did make him feel better. For the first time it felt like he actually would learn to control himself eventually, like he wasn't stupid for not knowing better yet. Like someone got why he was really doing it.
And that really made the difference, didn't it?
Louie never wanted to see another cavern ever again. He didn't care how cool they looked, they were too closed off. Suffocating. They felt too much like a tomb to ever be something he considered safe. So when he found out their next adventure was in one, naturally, he passed. He was the only one, but that wasn't anything new. The others tried to convince him to come, and that also wasn't anything new.
He could feel their disappointment the more he refused to budge, their frowns the more he shrunk in on himself, but he couldn't bring himself to care. His brothers were the only ones to back down, to realize something was wrong.
Uncle Donald was the one who put an end to the conversation.
"If he doesn't want to go, he doesn't have to go. End of discussion." And that was that. The others went a few days later and he was left with only his Uncle and Mrs. B as company.
He was still terrified.
He texted his brothers often, and it was only when they no longer had service that he stopped. This did nothing to ease his worries. So he did the only thing he could think of at a time like this, he distracted himself.
But he wasn't surprised when his Uncle Donald joined him, he always had a way of knowing when something was up with one of them. He offered Louie a Pep and he was pleased to see it was a cherry-flavored one. Louie took a sip and snuggled into the couch, knowing his Uncle wouldn't make him talk until he was ready.
It was why he was the one Louie usually went to when he had a problem. The others always pushed him, but his Uncle always seemed to know the best way to help him. And that was the difference, the only one that mattered at least.