Chapter Text
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Daisy Duck often though herself to be tenacious, firm on her stance, and never seemed to let anything sway her from a set direction. Of course, there were moments that flexibility was necessary, but this day was meant to be the exception to the rule. For today, she was going on a date, with her dear companion, and possibly, soon-to-be-steady, Donald Duck.
She was prepared for it to be a nice, simple date; away from all forms of hindrances of her date’s family, brought in the form of, “adventures.” That meant, no detours, no last minute changes, no anything that would get in the way of their time together; barring genuine emergencies of course. Other than that, everyone in his household was made very much aware to respect this time. Although, she pondered upon her own blunders in forgetting remind her own.
How did it all come to where she is now, questioning the things her dear date seemed to know?
Well, it all began after their departure, on the road to their next date destination. It was her turn to pick the location and she had chosen quite an unusual spot. Her choice, a giant showcase warehouse featuring the latest in furniture and home goods. When Donald had first asked her reasons, she told him that while searching for inspiration for her next design, she came across a dating article suggesting that going to spots that promote D.I.Y. make great conversation starters for a relationship. It opens the doors for communicating how each would visualize their future together living in the same space. Each would be able to widen the scope of their imagination of their lives together and help to build upon the foundation for a solid relationship. Thus, she deemed it the perfect place to visit next.
Donald had smiled at the brilliance of her plan, and he loved how, in his words, “absolutely unusual, in the ordinary sense," it was. She was glad. It was definitely a needed break from the erratic nature of his family’s unpredictability. But a single phone call changed all that.
The name on the screen glowed bright for both to see, and with each ring, Daisy tried so desperately to ignore the call. But the compunctions of her conscious weighed heavily upon not picking it up, until at last, he smiled and encouraged her to do answer. Donald, bless that sweet and tenderly heart of his, was not opposed to the sudden detour because of the caller and willingly adapted. So, their destination changed and they were currently on their way, to her family’s home.
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-Ducktales 2017-
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It was past noon when they pulled up into driveway of her great-grandmother’s bungalow styled property. As soon as the car was parked, her fingers start to fiddle about as she glances reluctantly in the direction of the house. Looking to her date, she couldn’t help but utter, “I’m sorry about this last minute change. It’s not exactly what we planned, but…”
Donald, her darling sweetheart, gazed at her kindly in understanding, “You don’t have to apologize, Daisy. You know I understand how important it is, especially the value of family. Besides, I needed to meet some of them sooner or later, right?”
“Oh, Don.”
“Daisy.”
Both gaze lovingly into each others eyes, admiring how wonderful and caring each were towards the other. Slowly, their hands move closer to touch, and gently their faces draw near, until…
“Ah! Mi bella Daisy!”
“Ah, nonna!” Both ducks are shaken by the elder’s loud and perky voice.
“I’ma sorry, mi Bella. OH! Is the young man you spoke about?”
“Yes, he’s-”
“Ah, quite a catch you’ve found ah, Daisy!”
“Nonna!”
“Although, he looks so thin, close to skin and bone. Dear, are you not being fed well?”
Donald becomes flustered at her words, “No, uh, m’am, I, uh… eat well. I just, get a lot of… exercise?” Yeah, he knows how scrawny he appears, sleeper build and all. But it was probably the best way to explain the workout he gets from carrying his family out to safety during adventures.
“Oh, no no no! We can’t have you so light. We must get food right in you. Gain energy and have a great meal on the table!”
“Nonna!” But her grandmother ignored Daisy’s complaints as she cheerfully guided Donald into the house, definitely aiming for the kitchen. All she could do was shake her head as a small smile grew on her beak, then soon lagged behind them. Oh well, she’d let her grandmother have her fun.
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-Ducktales 2017-
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“Ahhh,” Donald sighed in content, “This was absolutely the best meal I’ve had in a long time, M’am.”
“Ah, Donald, grazie! This is only a mere slice of our Italian culture. But please, call us your Bisnonna and Nonna now. Because we’ve shared a meal, that makes you practically family.”
“Alright, bisnonna, nonna.”
Daisy smiled fondly as she watched him compliment her and her nonna’s dinner, and her bisnonna’s recipes. It was also sweet to see how welcoming they were to invite him call them family already. She had never expected the date to take a turn like this. But all in all, it provided a pleasurable experience. For, upon coming into the house, Donald was made to sit down for lunch and everyone talked. Of course, there was the usual granddaughter talk, catching up on life, the mild interrogation of her sweetheart, and the usual neighborhood chatter about who was doing this or what happened between this person and that. But after lunch, they invited the two to stay and also have dinner, with Daisy helping to cook. She gave in, easily and happily.
That left Donald and her great-grandmother to get to know each other. It was awkward at first before she smiled warmly at him, and enthusiastically spoke about the days of old. She eagerly went into great detail about her own grandparents life and her mother’s own. Then, she spoke lovingly about their love stories and how it inspired her to find her own someday. Eventually, she gave birth to her daughter and the rest had been a wonderful adventure. Daisy couldn’t help but glance over his way and admire how Donald seemed to absorb the stories, and be enraptured by every word. Every moment uttered in nostalgic bliss delivered a sense normalcy in the immigration tale. For him, it must have been so endearing and refreshing, unlike the chaotic mess of his Uncle Scrooge’s own journey to the west.
Come the dinner he just complimented, and they’re still exchanging stories. Her nonna speaks of her own adventures between Italia and the Americas, then he speaks of his own family and how much he cared for his nephews. Her grands eyed her playfully, completely in approval over the fact he’s a dedicated family man. She blushes in embarrassment, only for her to go more red as she sees her nonna pull out what she sees are…
“Oh, nonna, you didn’t-!”
“Mi Bella, I’m sure you’re, ragazzo wouldn’t mind.”
“Oh, please, no! Not the family albums-!”
But her grandmother ignored her and opened the book for Donald to see, immediately flipping past the ones of her family and into the section with Daisy’s childhood. He cooed at how adorable duckling Daisy looked and giggled at the labels she had added, of her, “fashion faux-pas,” in her early preteen years. Some were labeled, “never again,” particularly the hairstyles. Daisy’s eyes, widen at the sight, wanting to quickly grab the book, but instead she slid her hand gently under one of the older sections and quickly flipped it away from own. He was startled by her action, but understood her embarrassment. But upon flipping to the random page, his expression became perplexed by one of the pictures in the section. Something seems to be churning in his mind as he intently examined the image.
“Say Daisy, that photo…”
“Oh? That?”
“It’s weird…”
“Huh?” Grabbing her nonna and bisnonna’s attention as well, all three peer in for a closer look.
“At first, I thought it was you, since she looks so similar. But, it’s in the older section, so it couldn't be. But then, who is she?”
Both grans squint their eyes before one realizes, “Ah! I remember her! A great one she was, my dear great-aunt.”
“Wow! The genes must be so strong in your family, cause it’s kind of uncanny how she looks a lot like Daisy.”
“Ah, sì!” Then she turns to Daisy, “You would have liked her, mi Daisy. Though my aunt shied away from the camera so often, she was a great lady. Intelligent, gentle, poised, and well rounded in all kinds of subjects. She was a woman of action, knowing just what she wanted outta life, and always fashion forward as you are now.”
“I can tell.” Daisy smiled, but then noticed how Donald could see how strained she looked. He was probably wondering why she seems a bit uncomfortable to even be talking about the person. He would probably even ask later. But only when she was comfortable to tell. He was patient like that, another admirable quality.
Her bisnonna sighed long, “After she found her love, we barely saw much of her, except at the reunions. Now decades have passed, so I doubt she’s and her marito are still around. Though she was a social lady, she rarely spoke much of her family life. We only met prozio John a handful of times… But if there’s one thing I know, whenever we saw dear Dolly with that husband of hers, she was definitely a girl in the constant honeymoon phase of their relationship. Those two loving each other was just as sweet as young lovers.”
Donald, who had been drinking water lightly coughed on it, and Daisy looked worriedly at him, “Donald, are you okay?”
“Ack, ack,” he coughed into his napkin, “I’m okay, I’m okay. Swallowed wrong. But… did I hear you say, Dolly… and… John?”
"Ah, that's right, mi la mia famiglia. Dolly Papera Duck Quackett and her marito, John Lamont Quackett. Both were so lovely, but kept to themselves quite a bit. I still wonder how they are after all this time."
"Oh you! You know her parents never added Papera to her name."
"She still is a Papera through and through!"
"Sadly, they're probably long gone now."
"Yet, we're still around?"
"That only means we're stubborn and eager! Just waiting to see all our family live their beautiful lives, especially you, Daisy.”
“I couldn't agree more.”
The conversation soon returned back to other grand stories of reminiscing the past and more inquiries about Donald’s life. Eventually, it tapered off into more lighter topics throughout the night. Both Daisy and Donald had very much enjoyed the evening there, but soon realized it was getting so late. They politely excused themselves and promised to visit another day. Her nonna gave them both the leftovers and extra meals they had cooked and both departed from their house, back to Duckburg.
On the drive back, they sat in silence with the soft melodious jazz playing on low volume. Daisy was slightly nodding off, but was really lost in thought. Her mind lingered on the evening and the pleasantness of the unexpected date spot. But then, she thought of the photo, the one she hadn’t meant to bring any attention. She though of Donald’s reaction as the gears seemed to turn in his head at the sight of the lady’s appearance, and how he nearly had choked on the water when hearing their names. That reaction wasn’t in the sense of knowing their Duckburg fame, but it felt, more personal. How could Donald know anything about them?
The moment Donald arrived back at the mansion, Daisy was gently shaken awake and blushed. The two spoke nightly farewells and ended with a light kiss goodbye before getting into her car to go home.
But again, her mind was fixated on the night. Something was there, and she knew it. Her gut feeling told her she shouldn’t let this alone. But what exactly was important about why he knew about them? Why were her middle school investigative journalism club instincts kicking into high gear? Why was her curiosity and need for answers restless within her? She knew the answer. But she also knew she had left that all behind in her past, among other things. But this mystery, why Donald was unearthing a buried past, she now needed to dig deeper into what he knew. It was time for her to do what she did best, research her topics, find inspiration, get answers, and hope it didn’t signal the return of something more.
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