starlightcafe | We figured out that when the tide comes, I'd take you away

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We figured out that when the tide comes, I'd take you away

Grocery shopping was about as far from an adventure as one could get, but it often came with motherhood, which meant Della was happy to do it. And at least this wasn't a full shopping trip, but rather, an "emergency" request for more Pep, made by Louie. That meant it had gone quickly, and now all that was left was to bring the bags back to the car - Donald had handed over the keys to his station wagon with extreme reluctance, even though she hadn't gotten into a spontaneous street race in nearly twenty years - and then head back to the mansion.

But as Della set the bag of soda down in the backseat and turned to get in the car, she spotted someone familiar. Sure, she didn't know Fenton very well - mostly she just knew he was Gyro's assistant or something, the poor guy - but she was always happy to make conversation. She leaned away from the car so he'd be able to see her, then waved and called out to him, "Hey! Fenton!"

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Fenton seemed half-asleep on his feet while making his way down the sidewalk, so the sudden sound of his name caused him to visibly startle. He looked around a moment until he spotted Della, and it took a bit longer to process that she'd been calling him.

With a somewhat confused smile, he made his way over, adjusting the strap of his bag as he came to a stop. "Hi, uh, Huey's mom...er, Miss Duck?" he floundered, still not entirely sure how to address her even now.

Honestly, the way he addressed her was too amusing for her to even feel awkward. Della grinned and shook her head. "Della. You can just call me Della."

Her smile put him somewhat at ease, at least, and he managed a sheepish one of his own. "Oh right, sure! Sorry. So, uh, how are things?"

This was how normal people have a conversation, right?

Della's laughter lingered, and she shrugged. "Things are good! Everyone's doing well. Uh, but what about you? You look really tired." Oh wait, that sounded rude, didn't it? Well, now it was Della's turn to get a bit awkward. "I mean, you look okay, I just guess you could call it a mom instinct. Not that you're a kid!"

He chuckled a little, some of that exhaustion seeping through again as a hand subconsciously rested on his duffle bag. "It's okay," he said, his free hand rubbing behind his neck. "I've just been, uh...working a lot of hours lately."

Which was true enough, anyway. Between all the Gizmoduck stuff and a few extra hours he'd been putting in at the lab, he wasn't too surprised to hear he was a little worse for wear.

"Ugh, Gyro," Della huffed. "Just because he works without stopping to breath, he thinks everyone else should do the same. Well, no surprise there..."

She shrugged. "But you're not going to be able to get anything done like that. You're more likely to fall over than anything else, I'd say."

He shrugged. "It's not all that bad," he countered around a yawn that only served to offset his point. But it wasn't fair to blame Gyro for all of it, even if he couldn't explain why. "Besides, I like what I do, so I don't really mind."

Which was also true. Even though the superhero work could be tiring, there was a sort of thrill to it. And sciencing was a good way to wind down afterwards.

"Liking what you do is great when you're awake enough to do it," Della pointed out, her hands on her hips. Then, at an idea, she broke into a grin. "Here, get in." She gestured to the car. "I know a great place to get coffee."

"Huh?" He blinked, looking between her and the car. "Oh, no, that's okay! I wouldn't want to trouble you - !"

"Hey, come on, it's not any trouble! I wouldn't have offered if I didn't have the time," Della insisted as she opened the passenger's side cardoor.

"Er...well, I..." He still hesitated, his hands worrying the strap across his chest. As much as he could go for a cup of coffee, his main worry was if an emergency happened while they were out. Running off in the middle of work was bad enough, but at least Gryo knew about it. If a situation came up, he'd have to make some kind of excuse...which he was terrible at.

Della just kept grinning. "Fenton, the first thing you should know about me is that once I get started, I'm unstoppable," she explained, gesturing for him to enter the now-open car door. "Don't worry, I'm not going to keep you from work for long!"

He managed a weak chuckle, even as his brain still tried to think of how to get out of this. In the end, though, he figured it was just about the same as trying to think of an excuse if an emergency did come up, and at least then he would've had a bit more time to think. Plus, the sooner they left, the sooner he might be able to get out of this without anything happening.

So, eventually, reluctantly, he climbed into the passenger's seat, carefully stuffing the duffle bag in the space in front of him.

Della nodded, satisfied, then got into the driver's seat. She took a moment to regard the duffel bag with some silent confusion - scientist wasn't a job that, to her, suggested carrying around one, but then... She wasn't sure what she did imagine a scientist carrying their things in. A briefcase?

Ah, well. She started the car up and drove off further into the downtown area. "This place is great - it's one of the bigger chains, but this specific one has the best glazed donuts."

In the middle of fighting with the duffle to have some room for his feet, he perked up a bit as he glanced at her. "Oh yeah?" he asked curiously, unable to stop the little smile that was starting to spread across his face.

"Yeah! See, they're all franchised around here - oh, the seat goes back by the way, if you need more room - so you get different ownership even in the same chain!" Franchises and such things weren't in her realm of interest, but with her uncle being Scrooge McDuck, she knew quite a bit about that kind of stuff. "And the guy who runs this one is really selective about who he hires, and where he buys from!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, okay." He looked from side to side for the right handle to move the seat. "And yeah, that make sense! I can't wait to try 'em."

Eventually, he found what looked like a handle on the door side of the seat. "Oh, is this it - oop!" He wasn't prepared as he pulled the handle, and the entire seat abruptly slid back. When it reached the end of the track, he was jolted by the just as sudden stop.

Blinking, he rubbed his head with that sheepish smile again. "Heh...I found it."

And he had plenty of room for his feet now.

The temptation to reach over to help was strong, but Della wasn't the sort of reckless where she'd take her eyes off the road, or hands off the wheel. Eventually, though, Fenton found the right pull - boy, did he ever. She laughed again, though not maliciously. "Yeah, looks like you did! Well, we're just about a block away, now."

With another small smile he nodded, looking at the surrounding buildings to keep note of where they were. If these donuts were as good as she said, then he'll want to know where it was.

"So does this place have anything else?" It was getting close to lunch, so maybe grabbing a bite to eat wouldn't hurt.

"They do! It's not a bad place for a light meal," Della explained. "Mostly sandwiches, but good ones!" Just a couple minutes later and she pulled into a shopping complex, parking right near the coffee shop.

"Hey, nothing wrong with sandwiches!" he said with a chuckle as he stepped out of the car. "They're good to eat when you're working and need a free hand. Except subs. Those are a bit too long to eat one-handed."

She snorted, amused. "Yeah, I guess subs would be a bit much to eat like that," she agreed, getting out as well. "But good! That you like sandwiches, I mean - just remember the idea right now is to recover from all the work, not do more of it," she teased.

A sheepish expression crossed his face while he lugged the duffle bag from the car, as though he had forgotten, probably intending to do some quick work on the side while eating. "Oh right, right," he conceded, though that didn't stop him from closing the car door with the duffle bag still slung over his shoulder.

Della was starting to realize this might not be as easy as she thought, and she shook her head a little at the sight of the duffle bag, though she said nothing.

Her mildly exasperated expression was replaced with a grin as she stepped inside, though, and breathed in the smell of fresh coffee and sugary baked goods - only for that grin to disappear again when she sees the line. It's quite long.

"Ugh, waiting?"

Noticing the line himself, he couldn't help a slight wince, once again worrying the strap of his duffle. He normally didn't mind waiting, used to long lines. But the longer they had to wait, the more of a chance that an emergency could come up.

"W-Well uh...maybe we should do this another time?" Then, realizing that almost sounded like he was trying to get out of it, he added, "I-I mean...I wouldn't want to keep you from anything! What with the line being so long, and everything."

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We figured out that when the tide comes, I'd take you away

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