ferdiefields

[ferdiefields]

“Ah, you would have gotten there eventually, with or without myself,” Ferdie replied, deflecting Davis’ gratitude for helping him get together with Louie, even though his plan had clearly worked just as intended and pushed their mutual friend into finally confessing his feelings. He didn’t need any credit for the idea, as all the emotional labor of the evening was still done by the two in the relationship. That said…“It might have just taken another year,” he added, “and been painful for yourselves and everyone around you.”

"I hope hell is nice and warm when we get there." -@ferdiefields

Davis smirked. After all the time and patience he had mustered up with Louie, it took Davis and Ferdie kissing in front of him to finally get to the next level with the triplet. The heir had some guilt for cornering Louie the way they had at first, but he was grateful that things played out according to plan. Of course, he and Ferdie needed to debrief once everything was settled. “Oh, it will be. Besides, Louie would probably be joining us there anyway,” he quipped. Wherever Louie was, he would be. Davis' tone changed as he continued, “— Thanks for helping us out, by the way. I know I was hesitant to the idea at first, but I’m really happy things worked out. I don't think we could've gotten here without your help.”

[ferdiefields]

“Do I look ugly and childlike in photographs?” Ferdie joked in response to Daisy essentially telling him he was more handsome and grown than she expected from pictures and video. He knew that wasn’t really what she meant, but he in his sarcastic nature couldn’t resist. When his friends started having kids and those kids started growing up, he’d finally understand how older people felt when they watched a whole person grow up from nothing; of course it wasn’t the same when it was your peers and you were changing with them. He hoped he hadn’t changed too much since the last time he’d been home, in any case—older and wiser (and handsomer) he would gladly take, but he was still the same Ferdie he’d always been at the core. And happy to let his honorary auntie dote on him. “My flight got in early this morning,” he said, smiling at Daisy’s comment that she would have been upset if he’d been here long without visiting. “You’re the first I’m seeing, only after my moms, Morty, Uncle Mickey and Aunt Minnie.”

In spite of her smaller stature, the woman pulled the brunette into a tight and delighted hug. “Of course I missed you! It’s been far too long since I’ve last seen you!” Daisy claimed, giving Ferdie a firm squeeze before taking a small step back. Her hands were still rested against his forearms, the designer taking the moment to now inspect him— my has he certainly grown into a fine looking young man! Of course, it wasn’t as if she hasn’t seen up to date photos or videos of Ferdie while he was still living in England, and she obviously had Morty as reference for she knew that if he was growing into a strapping looking young man, than certainly Ferdie was as well. But she still marveled at the sight of him, from his glasses to his attire— he has truly grown into his own. “You’re so handsome and grown! Photos and videos certainly did not do you any justice.” The woman commented before she pulled him into another hug. This one was much shorter than the first, as she completely pulled away this time around and smiled at him. “When did you arrive back to the island? It must have been very recent because otherwise if it wasn’t, I’ll be very upset that you hadn’t came to see me sooner.” She then said, joking near the very end. Although Daisy would have been a little upset if he has been back home for some time now. Although, she wasn’t his actual aunt like Minnie was, she was still rather fond of him and Ferdie did hold a special place within her heart after all these years due to his closeness with Louie. 

[ferdiefields]

Ferdie found he couldn’t stop grinning after Nemo agreed to go on a date with him, opting for the surprise option. That meant he’d have to start brainstorming ideas for where they could go and what they could do without getting Nemo’s feedback, but it was a risk he was willing to take. He could either prove that he did have a good read on the other man and the kinds of things he would enjoy, or the date might be a total bust—but then he’d know for the next hopefully. Hopefully it wouldn’t be the first and last date, at least, even if he didn’t end up planning the perfect outing. There was bound to be a learning curve between him and Nemo anyway, as there was in any hopeful budding relationship, but especially as the other was just beginning to fully explore his sexuality. Ferdie was a more than willing teacher with respect to burgeoning homosexuality, but he’d gladly become a dedicated student in the school of Nemo in return. The more he got to know him, the more he wanted to know.

“Golly—it’s been a while since I wooed someone, so I may be a bit rusty,” he warned, “but I’m certainly up for the challenge.” Ferdie did consider himself relatively well-versed in the realm of romantics, but he hadn’t dated much in the past couple of years since he and his last serious boyfriend had broken up. Of course he flirted here and there, hooked up a few times, including when he and Nemo met. He hadn’t known then that they’d end up having a chance to turn it into anything more than the cute little fling it had been and was grateful that they did have this opportunity, but he genuinely was somewhat out of practice when it came to wooing. What did people do for fun dates in Destiny Isle? He’d have to come up with something later, since it was to be a surprise for Nemo; in the meantime, they were enjoying their night together right here and now. Ferdie quirked his brows and looked at the magazine the other man had taken custody of, finding a way to bring the game back and hopefully get Nemo to reveal a little about what he might like. “Any tips about wooing a guy in there?”

Although his words had came out in its usual banter like tone, it actually took every ounce within Nemo to not start blushing. He had just agreed to going out on a date with Ferdie. An actual full blown date with him—not the small get togethers they’ve been having since they met up again like how they were doing so right now. A date. Get a grip Nemo. It’s not like he hasn’t ever been on a date before. As a matter of fact, he has! With multiple people! Not all at the same time of course—he wasn’t a player—but he’s been on enough of them. But this was different. Every single date he’s been on in the past has all been with a girl. Every single person he’s dated has been a girl. Ferdie was not a girl. Which meant that this was the first time he was agreeing to go out on a date with a guy. And it wasn’t like Ferdie was any random guy at that— He was different. Nemo wasn’t sure yet what made the brunette so different. All he knew was that being around him always felt different since the moment they met. And sure, it didn’t take long for him to realize that he clearly wasn’t as straight as he thought he was, and his hook up with the younger back then only solidified that. But outside of everything that had happened when he was in England, Nemo hasn’t exactly explored this newfound side of his sexuality since.

It’s actually kind of poetic. Ferdie was the first guy he’s ever felt deeply attracted to, so it made complete sense that he would be the first guy he goes on a date with, and that realization alone was both thrilling yet nerve wrecking. But Nemo didn’t let any of his growing nerves show— rather, seeing Ferdie grin at him in return, he may have felt his face heat up a little as he felt no regrets in agreeing to going on a date with him. He let out a small snort as the brunette corrected his words, the older taking that moment to finally divert his gaze away from the other as he pretended to glance at the magazine. By now, they both had given up on truly focusing on it, his attention very much still on the younger, more so once it was noted how he came off as a spontaneous kind of guy. Spontaneous— he can be, Nemo thought amused by Ferdie’s words. “Well, clearly, I’m going to go with a surprise.” He responded, wanting to put truth to that statement about him. “Since you asked me out, that means you want to woo me right? Surprise me and woo me then.” 

[ferdiefields]

Melody gasping multiple times during his recounting of events was exactly the reaction he had expected; what else could she be but shocked that things had turned so violent so suddenly? It was an upsetting story, and as bad a reputation as the three Rowdyruff boys had for being predisposed to aggression, Ferdie didn’t think anyone had Boomer picking a fight with Morty on their 2024 bingo cards (talk about misplaced anger.) He nodded in answer of Melody's first question—that her sister’s ex had indeed called her a slut—and then shrugged noncommittally at her next couple about the state of his own twin. “As I said: concussed, broken hand, busted face. I wouldn’t call him fine, but he’s at home recovering, so he will be once his injuries heal up…Don’t worry, he’s being well taken care of,” Ferdie assured his friend, adding, “Bubbles only just left his side this morning after sleeping over for two nights.”

It had been unsurprising that Bubbles had wanted to stay with Morty for so long after getting back from the hospital; the two had already been practically glued at the hip since they’d gotten back together, so having even more of an excuse to stick together could only exacerbate it. It was sweet, really. Ferdie was happy for them, and he liked Bubbles…but he was eager to get out of the apartment and spend time with his best friend after a few days cooped up with America’s Cutest Couple. He wondered, though, as Melody shifted the collar of her shirt and revealed a noticeable hickey on her skin, if she had a little romance of her own going on. He knew she probably wouldn’t bring it up on her own with the current conversation being so serious, so he’d have to give her the floor to dish about her personal news—it was only fair after he’d taken lead with the news involving their siblings. “That’s all on that. So what’s going on in your corner of paradise?” he asked, raising his brows and giving a short but pointed glance at her clavicle.

Cutting out a small piece of her cake with her fork, Melody was only able to take in that single bite as Ferdie clarified that the news involved their siblings. A big mess of a news to be precise. The model blinked. Hearing that something happened involving both of their siblings wasn’t exactly new— Since back when they were all still in high school, Morty and Millie has been a constant thing. They dated for the very first time back then—(Melody assuming that they were each other’s very first relationship for that matter)—but since their high school days, her twin sister’s relationship with Ferdie’s twin brother hasn’t exactly been so liner. The two were constantly breaking up and making up, even dating new people in-between before they got back together. Melody didn’t even need to be around to be aware of the ins-and-outs of her sisters relationship with Morty. Millie would always tell her whenever she got back together with him. And yet, knowing all that, the model looked at her friend with confusion.

“What happened?” She questioned, trying to figure out if there was anything else Millie had recently told her that she may have forgotten. The news couldn’t involve the two being back together— the recent and fresh reminder of how her twin had broken down within her arms as she disclosed the fact that Morty was now together with Bubbles. It was a heartbreaking sight, Melody never seeing her sister in such a state before, and with the additional fact of knowing that Morty had wanted to pause things completely with her sister and merely stay as friends with her? There’s no possible way that whatever this big mess was involved the two being back together again. Unless, this was Ferdie’s way of informing Melody that his brother was in love with someone else in the off chance her sister hadn’t mentioned this to her? Melody didn’t think that was the case. However, she couldn’t help but foresee that the relationship between Morty and Bubbles would cause a rift between them and Millie the longer the two are together. 

Plucking her fork back into the slice, her best friend elaborated on the news. She gasped as Ferdie mentioned someone picking a fight with Morty, her confusion becoming more prevalent as Melody wasn’t sure of who it was despite the obvious sarcasm dripping within her friends tone. But she didn’t need to spend much time wondering, because soon after he mentioned the person’s name— Melody gasped even louder. Boomer Jojo. As in Millie’s recent ex-boyfriend? The same ex-boyfriend whom her twin had also recently confessed in cheating on? And the same ex-boyfriend who the model hadn’t realized her sister had even been dating because she didn’t view her relationship with him as important enough to mention, and only did so up until recently because said ex-boyfriend of her twin sister had mistaken Melody for Millie when he first saw her. That Boomer Jojo. The fact that she had been with the blonde a mere couple of hours ago as this newfound information was being dropped onto her had caused the color to drain from Melody’s face. But oh Ferdie wasn’t done with his explanation, for he then went on to tell her about how Boomer blamed Morty for his breakup with Millie and Bubbles, and how his twin had randomly bumped into the Rowdyruff which spun into a fight between them. And the way Ferdie leaned in and spoke with a hushed tone as he mentioned Boomer calling her sister a ‘slut’— that caused Melody’s stomach to turn. "He called her that?"

Speechless by the news, she didn’t know how to respond. She was shocked to find out that a friend of her’s had gotten hurt, but then her mind immediately went towards Millie. Oh, how her sister was going to be even more devastated once she found out if she didn’t already know. But then a flashed reminder of her noticing Boomer’s bruised knuckles the night before and of how she had pressed her lips against them— being completely unaware of the true nature of how he had gotten those bruises. Instead, she allowed careless actions of kissing his knuckles and oblivious nature in leading her to kissing his other injuries Boomer sported. Which then lead to them leaving the club altogether for somewhere more private and— “…..Morty’s fine now, isn’t he?…..He’s safe and sound?” She shakenly was able to make out, adjusting the collar of her shirt and unknowing allowing the fresh mark of a hickey on her collarbone to be visible. Anything more, and Melody just might vomit out the little bits of food she just ate. 

[ferdiefields]

“That’s the idea,” Ferdie answered Davis’ expressed doubt over the proposed plot very matter-of-factly. It was clear that while the last thing Davis ever wanted to do was upset Louie, he was weighing the pros and cons of the idea all the same. Louie hating it was a given, but hopefully he would hate it in the way that meant it worked, making him sufficiently jealous to want to finally admit his feelings. It was still possible he’d hate it in the way that it made him feel too threatened and he’d close up like a clam instead, but…wasn’t that how things already were? By Ferdie’s estimation, things could only go up from here. Besides, Louie was the prince of underhanded schemes—he’d have to forgive them for pulling one over on him for once.

“I really think it will work,” Ferdie said, cool and confident in delivery and hopefully convincing enough for Davis, though if he didn’t get that agreement, he’d move on to coming up with a less-chaotic plan B. That didn’t seem like it would be necessary, though. When asked if he was willing to help, Ferdie smiled. Oh, they were so on. “Sure. I would have offered myself to begin with, but I thought it would make me look too eager…I’m not trying to make a pass at you,” he clarified. “But I believe I am well-suited for the job.” Davis could find somebody else to play the part, but it would be much less believable—and it would take time, whereas they could go back out there and start right now if he was ready.

Davis listened closely as Ferdie continued, though he didn’t glance up to make eye contact until his and Louie’s glasses were both refilled. Make him jealous. It should have been obvious to think of that — after all, Louie had succeeded in making Davis jealous before. It was interesting too, to hear this suggestion from Louie’s ex of all people — did that mean he was silently offering to give him a hand? Using his ex was probably the easiest and quickest way to make Louie jealous, especially with him already here… 

Still, Davis hesitated for a moment. It was risky. It always felt as if Louie were ready to flee from him at any moment; would this only push him away? Davis sighed as he considered, his gaze only leaving Ferdie’s for a moment to glance toward the door that led back to the hot tub. “I don’t know… Louie would hate it,” he trailed off, but he was obviously still considering it anyway. After all, Davis had already given all he could to Louie, hoping he’d eventually open up emotionally but with no luck. Maybe this was the only thing left he could try. “You really think it would work?” He asked, pausing as he thought about how this could play out. First, he had to ensure he and Ferdie were on the same page, that he wasn’t misunderstanding. “Does that mean you’d help?”

[ferdiefields]

“I know,” Ferdie replied softly as Webby confessed that she hadn’t been knitting after all. She was a terrible liar when her heart wasn’t in it—and right now it didn’t seem like her heart was in anything. Based on what she told him and the general air she was exuding, Ferdie imagined her wandering the halls of the mansion aimlessly, haunting her own home like a ghost. Only the real resident ghost of McDuck Manor actually did quite a lot, so the simile wasn’t perfect. Still, it was an unfortunate mental image, and he couldn’t bear to leave her at it even as it was clear she wasn’t interested in his company right now. Webby was too polite to tell him to leave directly, side-stepping his offer to do something together by saying that it was hard for her to do much of anything lately, and it left him a huge amount of room to weasel his way in. “Having someone to drag you into activities should alleviate some of that ennui,” he said. “We can start small, but we’re going to do something, okay?”

Despite his attempts to be gentle with her, Webby could see it written all over Ferdie’s face that he didn’t believe her when she said she had been knitting. And in fairness, she hadn’t believed herself when she said it either. While she did in fact already knew how to knit (as her Granny did enjoy the art of knitting from time to time, so that was a thing she had taught her to do at some point), it also wasn’t exactly something the blonde did most of the time. She needed to be in a special kind of mindset in order to get herself to want to knit, and currently her mind was far off from wanting to display such a skill. Hence why as soon as she said it, the girl sighed. “…..I wasn’t actually knitting.” Webby admitted, only saying that she was to see if that would convince Ferdie to go away. It did not such thing, the brunette proposing they could do something else together instead if she wanted to— she wasn’t sure if she did. “I do know how to knit, I just wasn’t actually doing that. I haven’t been doing much of anything lately honestly. I’m trying but— it’s been hard.”  

[ferdiefields]

Nemo’s joking suggestion that he would have looked good with Louie and Davis almost made Ferdie snort, letting out an amused exhale. Little did he know…He had actually wondered himself if there was some alternate universe out there where the three of them hooked up—because his past with Louie, his natural chemistry with Davis, and the now evident bond between those two together could have all culminated in one hell of a three-way if the stars had aligned just so. Ferdie hadn’t spent too much time contemplating how things might have been different depending on timing, however. Since noticing that the other two belonged together, he only wanted to help them get there. And since reuniting with Nemo, he had another goal in mind for himself. The man across from him was somebody who had interested him from the moment they met, and he’d been nigh unforgettable for the year after, even if they’d only spent a brief time together. His personality captivated, their banter was top notch, and his gorgeous face didn’t hurt either.

If they were meant to meet for a week and then keep the fling only as a perfect memory, he would have had to be satisfied with that, although he wondered more than once afterwards what might have been if they had kept in contact after Nemo’s visit to England…But after ending up back in the same place a year later, he couldn’t help thinking the fates were giving them another chance to get it right. Every day he’d gotten to spend time with Nemo since then only convinced him more that this was something worth pursuing. It seemed he wasn’t the only one who thought so, as before he could even properly ask the question, Nemo was answering his dancing around it. Flipping the script as it were (if the magazine neither was truly reading from could be considered a script.) Ferdie was surprised, but delighted to hear Nemo imply that he wanted to go out with him, though he had to correct the wording. “Settle? Never.” He returned Nemo’s smile with a grin of his own. “So…You strike me as a spontaneous kind of guy. Would you fancy a planned date or a surprise?”

So he was referring to him. After Ferdie eliminated any possible guesses Nemo could have made by claiming how he had no interest in asking his ex from high school back out, even going as far as to add the tidbit of how said ex was already dating a billionaire. And speaking of such, the younger clarifies he had no interest in asking that billionaire out either, or any other friends Nemo’s seen Ferdie hanging out with. Which meant there was only one cute guy he was referring to— Nemo. Huh, he blinked. He knew that from the start yet even without the younger saying it directly, to know that Ferdie seriously wanted to go out with him had the swimmer fighting back a smile.

Nemo would never classify himself as a jealous person. In fact, it wouldn’t have bothered him if the brunette had said he was interested in someone else because despite the attraction between them, the older just liked the fact that they both had the chance to spend more time together compared to back when they first met. Back then, Nemo only had a week— barely enough time to know a person in a deeper level, and yet meeting Ferdie had been a rush in which he’s never felt before. He brought out sides of him in which he hadn’t realized was there, and so once it had been time for Nemo and his dad to go, he was sad but also content. Maybe they were meant to know each other for a short time and not for a long time— and that was okay. But now they had all the time in the world living at the same place, and with that time, it seemed like Ferdie wanted to know Nemo in that deeper level. But the question now was, did Nemo wanted to do the same? “Well damn, you, your ex, and that billionaire would have looked good all together.” He commented, breaking the silence. There was a gleam of mirth in his eyes as the smile he tried to hide finally showed. And then has swiftly as he could, Nemo finally snatched the magazine away, flipping it open to a random page but instead of glancing at it, he held his gaze towards Ferdie. “Guess that means you’ll have to settle going out with this cute guy instead.”

[ferdiefields]

“Knitting,” Ferdie repeated. He had heard the nothing before the knitting, but he wasn’t going to call Webby out on the obvious lie. Usually, his penchant for sarcasm would kick in and he’d ask if that was the best she could come up with, but not today. She was clearly out of sorts and needed a gentler touch. “If you want to take a break from all the…knitting, we could do something together,” he suggested. Even if it was as simple as watching a show or quietly reading together, he hoped that might help her feel a little less alone. It was better than her sitting in a dissociative funk all day, in any case. Hell, if she actually was knitting by some chance, she could go ahead and teach him how—he wouldn’t mind.

Closing the door behind him after he stepped inside, the blonde paused when asked what she had been up to before he arrived. Nothing. That’s what Webby had been doing. Well, it was more like she had been locked up inside her bedroom the entire time until he came— just like she’s been doing every single day since they all returned back home from the hospital. It was the best thing the girl could do since Louie started to avoid her, and because she didn’t want to make him uncomfortable by seeing her or accidentally running into her, Webby figured the best way to prevent any of that from happening was for her to stay inside her room. Even during days like today, where Louie wasn’t even home so she didn’t have to. The blonde didn’t want to run the risks or cause any more awkwardness between them. But could she say that to Ferdie? “I was doing noth— er, knitting?” She randomly ended up saying, blinking her eyes just as she did so. “Yeah, knitting. That's what I've been doing the entire time before you stopped by." Knitting.

[ferdiefields]

“Who else would it be?” Ferdie replied, a joking lilt in his voice as he answered Daisy’s greeting question. It’s not like there’s anyone else who looks identical to me, his teasing tone suggested. Of course, it wouldn’t take an expert to tell him and his twin apart; even if they had the same features underneath, he and Morty styled and carried themselves differently. At the very least, his glasses set him apart. But Daisy was someone who could have told which was which even when they were little kids, back when they still dressed and acted so much alike that those outside their family struggled to differentiate them. She had earned “Aunt” status a long time ago. Which was exactly why she was one of the first people he came to visit after returning home from university—he figured on stopping by in person to surprise people one by one rather than making a big announcement on social media and killing all the excitement. Of course his immediate family knew exactly when his flight landed and picked him up from the airport that morning, but surprising Mickey and Minnie had been fun. He couldn’t wait to see the rest of the Duck family as well, but was happy to reunite with Daisy first. He laughed as the designer wasted no time in hugging him, wrapping his own arms around her tightly. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he added in reference to his former question about her missing him.

"Did you miss me?" -Ferdie ( @ferdiefields )

At the ringing of the bell, signaling that someone had came in, the designer didn’t look up from the paper she had been writing on before she spoke “Sorry, but we’re closing in ten minutes.” Daisy called out, realizing that she’ll need to pause in order to lock the doors so no one else could come inside. However, despite her words, the woman continued with what she was doing, letting the customer browse through the shop all they wanted until they were ready to check out. But instead of hearing the typical sound of someone walking about, through the corner of her eyes Daisy watched as the person walked up to her counter. Then she heard a familiar tone. “Did you miss me?” Confused, she looked up to see who it was, only for the designer to gasp with a smile. “Oh my, Ferdie Fields, is that you?” Daisy questioned, dropping her pen and forgetting about the paper altogether. There was no mistaking it, it was him! The glasses and hair is what sealed the deal, but also the way he smiled brightly at her in return. Walking over the counter, the woman made no haste in throwing her arms around the young man and pulling him in for a hug. 

[ferdiefields]

Ferdie bit his lip as Nemo asked whether he was referring to him when he mentioned the possibility of asking a cute guy out. If he was honest and answered yes but Nemo wasn’t interested, things could become awkward between them—and he didn’t want to ruin the friendship that had bloomed between them, regardless of his own feeling that he and Nemo could develop something more than that. If there was one thing about him, though: he wasn’t a coward. The chance that Nemo might be curious enough to go on a real date with him was worth the risk that he wasn’t interested, and if his disinterest was enough to make him act weird around Ferdie after this, the friendship probably wasn’t worth maintaining anyway.

Before he could answer, Nemo continued on to comment that Ferdie had been hanging out with a lot of cute guys, and he couldn’t help but grin at that. A huge part of him wanted to go Ooh are you jealous? Of course that would have been horribly immature, but it was his genuine reaction, which he’d keep internal. It was still quite likely that Nemo wasn’t jealous, but was just being wary about how many people Ferdie was potentially talking to before assuming anything. He could definitely respect that. “My ex who I went out with in high school and who is now dating a billionaire? I don’t want to ask him out,” he replied, his smile softening. “Or his boyfriend. Or any other friends you’ve seen me hanging out with…” Process of elimination should leave one clear answer left as to which cute boy he was interested in, and he was sitting right in front of him. He wondered if that was enough for Nemo or if he wanted a direct confession. Well, he wasn’t going to get that yet.

It should have been expected that once he questioned Ferdie if he was planning on using these ‘tips’ on someone, that the brunette would turn his question right back onto him. And yet, despite not being serious at all when he asked that, hearing Ferdie claim it depended on the cute guy he was hanging out with lately if he wanted to go out with him before directly asking Nemo himself if he was interested made the older flustered. “W-What?!” Is all he muttered out, now staring back at him with widen eyes. 

Did Ferdie just seriously asked him out? Sure, there was this whole thing going on between the two of them, Nemo not being blind to the fact that since their reconnection, the younger had flirted with him more than once. He wouldn’t even deny that he’s flirted back a few times, but that was all it had been— flirting. They haven’t exactly done anything more than that. At least, not recently. Besides, Nemo has seen Ferdie flirt with a few others before, which made him conclude that whatever attraction they had between them was mainly just that, them being attracted to each other. And that was fine, he gladly went along with that, content to having the brunette around even longer and being able to get to know him better and vice versa. He didn’t think that meant Ferdie wanted to seriously date him. Maybe he was asking him rhetorically, not serious at all and just trying to figure out if Nemo was into him even more than what they already have going. “That depends….is the cute guy you’re referring to me?” Nemo asked, wanting to make sure before he gave an actual answer. “Because from my perspective, you’ve been hanging out with a lot of cute guys lately. One of them being an ex, even.” 

[ferdiefields]

“I have an idea,” Ferdie confirmed, picking up his glass and idly swirling the ice cubes inside. He was just debating whether to share that idea, was all. “It’s entirely up to you whether you want to give it a go,” he added as a disclaimer, and watched Davis continue to make his own and Louie’s drinks. He took a sip of his and then let the scheme out: “You could make him jealous. You know, show him that you have options, or that he has competition.” Even if that wasn’t really the truth, considering how enamored Davis was of Louie, the idea that this arrangement as it existed now might not last much longer could put the fire under Louie’s ass to lock it down. It was really that simple, so Ferdie thought…Or maybe I read too much. He shrugged.

The natural follow-up to this suggestion was the question of who Davis could use to make Louie jealous, and well…Ferdie was here, but he had already gone as far as coming up with such a plot. He couldn’t volunteer for it without coming across like he was just doing all this in an attempt to make a move on Davis himself, which—while he was an attractive man—wasn’t Ferdie’s intention. Sure, he wouldn’t mind having a little taste, but in the end he was genuinely trying to help his friends here get together, not get between them. There was just nothing else to do for it if talking wasn’t getting through to Louie; something drastic might actually be needed to shake things up.

Davis didn't have many people around in his life who truly listened to him, but it was surprisingly cool to have Ferdie be one of them. Despite that things may have been slightly awkward when they first ran into Louie’s ex a while back, Davis and Ferdie seemed to get along well. It was nice to have a friend around that he didn’t feel the need to impress. Even a small part of him wondered if he would have had a crush on Ferdie in another universe, had he not fallen so hard for Louie — they had an interesting chemistry that, although clearly platonic, probably drove Louie a little crazy.

Davis’ eyebrows quirked up in interest as Ferdie began to give his thoughts on the matter, curious to see what Louie’s ex might think. There was a reason he brought it up to the heir in the first place after all — maybe he just wanted to help. At first, Davis nodded as he listened, though he wasn’t sure where exactly Ferdie was going with this. He did have a point though, because Louie was too comfortable. He had Davis wrapped around his finger to get whatever he wanted (money, friendship, and recently more physical benefits), and Davis allowed it to become that way in fear of Louie pulling away from him. He’d been so patient and flexible between them to the point that the triplet didn’t have the same fear as Davis did — after all, it was obvious he wasn’t going anywhere. If Davis continued this pattern and kept enabling Louie to mess with his emotions, nothing would ever change.

Damn, Ferdie could clearly read the two of them better than they could read themselves. Still, it seemed that their friend was hesitating to say more. Davis finished refilling Ferdie's drink and slid the glass toward him across the counter, eyeing him curiously. “Makes sense,” he answered at first with another nod. He focused back on his and Louie's drinks as he asked, “Is this your way of saying you have an idea in mind?”

[ferdiefields]

It had been too long since Ferdie and Melody had come here together—in fact their first time at their favorite old bakery since he had moved back home after university even though he’d come back last summer. He had come here without her a handful of times since his return, but of course it wasn’t the same. He smiled as she remarked that he remembered her favorite dessert, like of course, and only hoped that the news he had actually called her to share wouldn’t spoil her appetite…He had come prepared with all the actually gory details. “Big mess involving our siblings,” Ferdie clarified when asked about the news he brought. Back in the day, that could have meant Morty and Millie breaking up or getting back together again based on the frequency at which those two things happened over the years, but nobody could mistake that for a possibility now.

With how in love Morty and Bubbles were, it would probably take an Earth-shattering event to separate them. But that didn’t mean there still couldn’t be drama surrounding them and Millie—through no fault of their own, but a mutual connection gone sour. Ferdie trusted that Melody already knew the backstory between all the ex couples at play in this situation, but he knew that Morty had only told direct family (him, their moms, and their aunt and uncle) about his recent hospital stint and was perhaps talking to Millie today, so unless Bubbles or Dewey had already spilled the tea to everyone (unlikely) that meant nobody had yet had a chance to break it to Melody. As the closest of friends, it only felt appropriate for them to rekindle their old dine and dish sessions with the most juicy gossip their families had seen in a while.

“You’ll never guess who picked a fight with Morty,” he said, sarcasm tinting his tone, because what other answer was there than the guy who had also dated two of the women Morty had dated, and was a volatile Rowdyruff boy to boot? But just in case Melody didn’t pick up immediately anyway, Ferdie gave the answer: “Boomer Jojo.” Setting his jaw, he mentally prepared himself to tell the full story without inserting too much emotion, because as compelling as it was as a piece of gossip to share, it also kind of pissed him off. Ferdie wasn’t someone who angered easily, but of course anyone that hurt his family—especially his twin brother—would get under his skin. He could only imagine Melody would feel the same once she heard what the blonde Rowdyruff had said about her own twin.

“Apparently Boomer blames Morty for his break-ups with Bubbles and Millie,” he explained. “So they bumped into each other on the street, Boomer started going off on him about—” Ferdie waved his hand to suggest untranslatable nonsense, pressing his lips together. This was a nice bakery, so he lowered his voice, leaning towards Melody across the table so she could hear him, but hopefully nobody else would. The rest of the story was conveyed in a hushed rush, “He called Millie a slut, Morty swung on him, Boomer swung back and wouldn’t stop until Bubbles tackled him…Morty ended up with a broken hand and a concussion. And you don’t even want to see his face.” Ferdie winced. It hurt him just to look at his brother. “In essence, we’re not so identical right now.” He leaned back in his seat now, returning to a normal volume.

“Thanks for inviting me here.” Melody thanked, as Ferdie placed their pastries against the table before taking a seat across from her. They were sitting by the window to a favorite spot of theirs— a simple yet charming looking bakery that sold one of her favorite pastries— Maple apple upside down cake. Not the most unique of desserts and she’s definitely had her fair share of many throughout the years, from multiple establishments at that. But this place in particular had the best recipe of all, and ever since discovering it back when the two of them were in the beginning years of high school, the pair has made it a point to stop by at least once throughout the month. But of course once they had gotten older and Ferdie moved away to attend college in England, while Melody’s molding career started to sky rocket, visiting this place became much scarce. But now that the two of them were once again living within Destiny Isle, it felt nice to potentially start up this tradition with him. Besides, she quite missed spending time with the brunette, and even after being back home for a few weeks now, the two hadn’t gotten the chance to spend any of it until this very moment.

Noticing that he had bought the model her favorite pastry, a bright smile appeared on Melody’s face. “You remembered!” She beamed, reaching over for her dessert fork. She wanted to dig right in, having craved the apple pastry for so long now, but the ravenette held off as she once again glanced back at her friend. “Outside of this quality time together, what do I owe the pleasure of this sudden invite?” She inquired, remembering how the text she received from Ferdie was stated to be urgent on what he had to tell her. And in that same matter, there was something she wanted to tell him too. After the past night she’s had involving a certain ex of her own twin sister and even the realization of this past morning— Ferdie felt like the best person she needed to speak to. But first, his news. “You mentored it was important?” ( @ferdiefields )

[ferdiefields]

Seeing the hint of a smile on Webby’s face, however quickly it disappeared after, Ferdie felt he had definitely made the right choice to visit her. She deserved to smile as much as anyone else—indeed, it had been strange lately to see her go so long without one—so Ferdie vowed to himself to make her smile again today. He wouldn’t go home until he did. “What were you up to before I dropped in?” he asked as he stepped past Webby to enter the manor. He assumed if she was doing anything terribly important, she would have told him so before letting him in, but she did seem very surprised by his presence, so maybe the distraction made her forget herself. Either way, he was here to stay, so she’d just have to make room for him in whatever she was doing before he showed up.

For a moment, the side of her lips had lifted into an almost smile as the realization that Ferdie was here for her finally settled in. While it’s not to say that no one else has tried to check in on Webby since the bombing at the hotel happened because some people has— her Granny, Huey, Donald, and Daisy, just to name a few, most who had were all her family so it was to be expected. At the same time, since neither she or Dewey had gotten as badly injured like Louie did, the two coming out of the accident with scratch wounds at best, it also made sense that most of everyone’s focus would be on him. She get’s it and the blonde wasn’t about to start complaining over the lack of attention. But as Ferdie confirmed that he in fact was here for her, Webby not only felt confused but also felt kind of happy to hear that. Happy enough where she almost smiled, but as soon as said smile had appeared, the girl then dropped it. Should she even be acting happy right now? “Oh right, yeah, of course you can come in.” Snapping out of it and not realizing that she may have been blocking the doorway, Webby moved aside from her position, giving him enough space to walk in. “Sorry, about that.”

[ferdiefields]

Ferdie just smiled as Nemo complained about his playing keep-away. That pout, however cute, wouldn’t prompt him to reveal his trickery, even though he was sure the other man already knew he had made up the whole article thing. Instead of continuing to challenge the veracity of the article which they both knew was fake—though Ferdie would gladly come up with his own list if asked—Nemo decided to question whether he was planning to use them on an upcoming hot date. Was it a bad sign that he was swerving the clear implication that Ferdie was flirting with him, or a good sign that he was curious about his potential love life? Trying to figure out where he stood with the other was an interesting little game.

He titled his head, studying Nemo for a moment before answering, “That depends on if this cute guy I’ve been hanging out with lately would go out with me. I’m not sure yet…Why? Are you interested?” The ball squarely back in Nemo’s court, Ferdie could relax, letting him handle that one. He might get a clearer signal of interest or lack thereof with his more direct approach, but even if not, the banter simply continued and that was its own kind of treat.

Reaching for the magazine, his fingers merely grazed against the spine before it was pulled back and away from him. Ferdie held it above his head, far enough where the only way Nemo would be able to grab the magazine was if he either threw himself across the table to do so or if he stood up, walk over, and snatch it that way. With a displeased huff, he half-heartedly glared at him. He could opted for the first option, just an inch taller than the other with long enough limbs that he would be able to reach for the magazine with his good arm even while it was held over the other’s head. Yet in spite of his reaction, Nemo wasn’t all that annoyed to want and do any of that. Sure, he wanted to see what kind of article had a tagline like that one—wasn’t this a teen magazine after all?! A young teen magazine at that! Teenagers were hormonal, but as far as he knew, no major publicized teen magazine had articles on mind blowing sex! That thought process ultimately lead Nemo to believe that Ferdie was making it all up, which he had a feeling that was what he had been doing this whole time. But the curiosity was getting the better of him.

“Ferdie!” Nemo whined, his arms dropping against the table with a light bang. He frowned at him, the frown nearly coming off as a pout which it might as well be if it meant that it would make his crush friend hand over the magazine to him. “You can’t read a tagline like that, and not expect me to what and see if it’s real!” He claimed, despite already guessing that it wasn’t. Even if it was, twenty-five tips for mind blowing-sex sounded like a whole lot. Like, were they each a single sentence long? Did they go in depth to explain why these tips were worth it? What ratio made any of them even accurate??? He had questions, and this time Nemo did in fact pout as Ferdie placed the magazine back down— the older making no moves in trying to snatch it, instead crossing his arms against the table. “What? You have a hot date happening soon where you might be needing these tips or something?” Nemo then asked, pretending not to hear how Ferdie had said “we” as if alluding to the fact that they—the both of them—would be going back to that ‘article’ later. He didn’t sound like he was being serious when he said it so he wasn’t taking it seriously himself. Nemo’s own question wasn’t meant to be taken seriously either, yet he stared at the other curiously.

[ferdiefields]

It was no surprise that Louie wasn’t just denying his feelings to Ferdie. If he was being honest with Davis (and himself) about what they really were to each other, there would be no need for this conversation, because the two of them would just be a couple. It was obviously not for any lack of intention on Davis’ part that they weren’t. It also made sense that he didn’t want to push Louie on the matter, though, with recent events and how sensitive the triplet had been about everything lately but especially with regards to having control over his life.

“Mm. Mhm,” Ferdie hummed, nodding in acknowledgment of Davis’ words. “It’s not just you. If you ask me…” Nobody was asking him, but with the perspective of someone who had known Louie all their lives—not only that, but who had been in a long-term relationship with him—he felt he was the best qualified to help in this situation. He might be a natural-born meddler, but that only meant he was good at picking his moments. “Louie is too comfortable with things the way they are now. He won’t cave until you give him a compelling reason. If he thought he stood to lose something, he’d want to protect it. Not that you should give him an ultimatum, but…if you want things to change, you should do something.”

He was advocating for Davis to back Louie into a metaphorical corner, as calculated as that was. At this point a push out of his comfort zone seemed like the only thing that would get through that tough shell of denial. An idea he thought would work particularly well sprung to mind, yet Ferdie hesitated to suggest it for fear of coming across like he had an ulterior motive. He really had no personal stake in this, besides that he wanted his friends to be happy…He interfered, because he cared.

Things were still unspoken between Louie and Davis, though his feelings still remained the same. Ever since things became more physical between them, kissing and hand holding and cuddling each time they saw each other — as friends, Louie liked to stubbornly remind him — there was an obvious shift as the triplet got more comfortable with Davis. At this point, the heir could almost consider them together without the label, though he'd never actually say that out loud to Louie.

It had been one thing when it was just between the two of them, but now it was in front of others too. The fact that Louie was willing to casually kiss Davis in front of Ferdie as he was getting up to get drinks for them was a clear example of how comfortable he was getting, but it only added to the mind games for Davis. Still, he played along. Davis returned the kiss with a smile before heading off, thoughts racing as they always did after they kissed as he went for refills.

It was interesting to see how much more independent Louie helped Davis become, and without even trying. While before he would have had someone he paid to do such simple tasks like refilling beverages, nowadays that didn't always feel as necessary. Not that he rid of house help completely, he still liked his luxurious lifestyle ( as did Louie ), but he did rely on them less, treated them nicer even. Davis only anticipated being gone a minute or two as he stood at the indoor bar, but he was distracted from the task as Ferdie came over. "Hey," he responded casually, only to stop what he was doing entirely as their friend wasted no time cutting to the chase. You have feelings for each other. The way he worded it was actually a relief — it was validation from a third party that Davis wasn't going crazy. Louie did like him more than as a friend.

Davis proceeded by turning his head to double-check that Louie wasn't in earshot, knowing that if he overheard this conversation he'd make things weird yet again. Then, he brought his attention back to Ferdie. "You're not the only one he's being evasive to," he confessed, shrugging his shoulders. "Anytime I've tried to bring it up, he shuts me down." Or he brushes it off as a joke, he thought to himself grumpily. He was glad Ferdie brought up the subject though, continuing honestly, "I haven't pushed him because — you know —" He knew the accident and Louie's injury was a sensitive topic, even when he wasn't a part of the conversation, so it went without saying what he was referring to. " — but lately it's gotten to a point where I've started to wonder if it's just me." It wasn't typical for Davis to be so honest so easily like this, but he really liked Ferdie; it was easy to be real with him. "... But you see it too, huh?"

[ferdiefields]

@davisdrake

There was definitely something going on with Louie and Davis. Ferdie had noticed a marked change in the way they behaved with each other since Louie’s injury, which made sense—a lot of things changed due to that incident—but it was the specific way in which those two acted around one another that drew his attention. Well, Davis’ feelings had always been pretty obvious, even if Ferdie hadn’t known him a sliver of how long he’d known Louie. Still, things had noticeably shifted lately. Louie clung to Davis more, and was more openly affectionate. He deferred to him more than could typically be expected of Louie Duck, letting him choose where they went or what they did when it used to be definitively the opposite. That one could be a sign that their arrangement was simply gaining more of a balance, but the real kicker was this: whenever Louie said something particularly clever, he always looked at Davis first to see if he smiled. Ferdie knew what Louie in love looked like.

While they were all hanging out one night in Davis’ hot tub and their host got out to refill their drinks, Louie leaned over and kissed him casually before he left. Then he had the audacity to deny that there was anything going on between them when questioned. Kissing was just something they did now, as friends. Sure. Ferdie hopped out of the tub with an excuse about going to the bathroom, when he really headed straight to the indoor bar to confront Davis instead. “Hey.” He jumped right in, no time for beating around the bush. “Louie’s being evasive, but I figured you might be more honest. You have feelings for each other, yes?”

[ferdiefields]

@hubertducck said: “Sometimes I just get really, really mad and…but I'm working on it, okay?”

The situation in the Duck family was still tense months after the incident at the hotel. Though things had seemingly started looking up for Louie lately as he recovered and got accustomed to his new prosthetic, and for Dewey as he got a new girlfriend, that didn’t mean everything was perfect between them—hell, Dewey had even moved out to stay with Morty and Ferdie—or that other members of the family weren’t still struggling with their own emotional turmoil. Huey had the particular torment of an eldest sibling who felt he had somehow failed to protect his triplet brother, as impossible as it would have been for him to have done anything to prevent that situation.

Anyone could see that stress had been building up in Huey for a long time with no apparent outlet—probably because he continued to bottle it and push it down as much as he could instead of letting his anxiety and anger out in regular measured doses. This was a thought Ferdie had first had when he checked in on Webby a few weeks after the incident, but the word therapy kept running in his head when he saw what the family was going through. Have they sought family counseling yet? It felt intrusive to ask, judgmental to suggest, so Ferdie tried to sound as neutral as possible when he said, “It’s okay. You wouldn’t be human if you never got angry. Do you…have somebody to talk to about it?” That seemed an indirect and inoffensive enough way to get at what he meant.