How does he Dewey it?

As her best friend caught met her gaze and teasingly claimed how Morty loves him, the blonde Powerpuff let out a fake gasp. “Are you claiming that Morty loves you more than he loves me?” Bubbles questioned in returned, pretending to look offended by this revelation, despite already knowing how much the two boys cared for one another. Ironically enough, if it wasn’t for the fact that her boyfriend wasn’t romantically interested in guys at all, then she might have been a little suspicious over the kind of love Morty felt for Dewey. But then again, Dewey would be the exception of that claim, wouldn’t he?

Dewey shrugged playfully as he heard Bubbles dramatic gasp. “I can’t confirm or deny,” he confessed as he held his hands hip in defense. “All I can say is, it was his idea that I move in.” Which was the truth — If it wasn’t for that offer, Dewey would likely just be hiding in his room at the manor, at least when he wasn’t spending time with Tiffany. She’d only just broken up with Randy that first day of the month, so he had to be a good guy and give her a little space. However, the reality was that the two may as well have already been official, but they were classier than that, instead keeping things lowkey until some time had passed for the drama to settle. Boy, was Dewey’s life complicated recently.

In spite of her comforting words, the woman could see it didn’t make much of an effect on Dewey. She figured it wouldn’t have, this entire situation so dire enough to be dispelled by her simple words, especially not with how much at fault the the middle triplet felt in all of this. And he was at fault, Daisy wasn’t going to deny that, but she also wasn’t about to be angry at him for it because she knew above all else, everything hadn’t been so intentional. Perhaps keeping the secret had been, but deep in her heart, she knew that Dewey never meant to hurt anyone. Including herself, but she was a grown adult, she could handle her emotions better than his siblings could.

The more Dewey sat here with Daisy, the more guilt he felt. Despite Uncle Donald’s anger toward the middle triplet, Daisy was still trying with him, and he appreciated that, especially considering the hurt she must have been feeling herself. Hearing that she thought Dewey didn’t see her as a mother figure made his heart sink into his chest, confirming his suspicions that Daisy was also hurt by his actions. Dewey sighed. “That’s the thing …. I do see you as a mother figure, Aunt Daisy, but…” he looked down at their connected hands. “… just because you’ve been a mom to all of us, doesn’t mean I can just forget about our real mom. Huey and Louie might be fine with pretending she never existed, but not me… She could still be out there somewhere.”

It was safe to say that Huey has yet to let go of his anger towards Dewey. No, he wasn’t raging anymore over everything his brother had caused, but the older still couldn’t stand to be in the same room as him without his blood starting to boil. So, the fact that Dewey not only decided to randomly show up at the Manor—after he decided to move out—but he really had the audacity to show up in front of him. With a present.

Despite how badly their fight had ended after Halloween, Dewey had really hoped he had given his brother enough time to cool off so they could move forward. Hell, he and Webby had even made progress on mending things, even if it was a minimal amount. Webby had made a good point when they spoke, that Dewey leaving only made things worse between them all, so now he was slowly trying to make efforts and be more present again. Especially with the holidays just around the corner, they would have to learn to at the very least tolerate each other so they wouldn’t all be miserable at the end of the year. Still, Huey was insisting on staying angry.

“I know everything I needed to know.” Huey snapped right back. He didn’t need to know the personal life about this girl and her boyfriend or why his very own brother decided to get involved with them. The truth of the matter was that she was already with someone else, and if she had been so unhappy with her current relationship that she looked at Dewey for refuge, then she should've done the sensible thing and break up with her boyfriend first before getting his brother involved even more. After all, if her relationship had been so terrible, why was she even with this guy in the first place? Why hasn’t Dewey ever mentioned her before or explain sooner on why she couldn’t just leave her boyfriend even if she wanted to? If he liked her so damn much, why couldn’t he have just waited until things were okay so there wouldn’t have been anymore unnecessary problems! That’s what Huey couldn’t get. Dewey already found himself in hot water and instead of making things better, he had to made things even worst because once again, he couldn’t take the moment to stop and think before doing something completely selfish.

Dewey was giving his brother a pissed-off glare instead of responding. It was the way that his brother was such a know-it-all, but in this case, he was acting completely closed-minded and only really knew what he wanted to hear. The entire situation was extremely complex but Huey couldn’t be bothered to listen to the whole story. This was exactly why Dewey never talked about Tiffany to the oldest triplet in the first place — he knew it was something he wouldn’t understand. Still, Huey continued to be stubborn and acted as if he knew everything and was always right. 

For the first time ever, Bubbles wasn’t visiting Morty’s and Ferdie’s place to see her boyfriend. Seeing Morty's face was a huge plus, of course, but she actually decided to stop by because she heard from Morty that Dewey was moving in with him and his brother. It was no secret that things were pretty tense between Dewey and his family lately thanks to a certain bombing that occurred at Hotel Transylvania with him, Louie and Webby being caught within the crossfire. But seeing how some time had already passed from that incident, the blonde thought that Dewey and his family were working things out. However, after even more drama happening at the Halloween Ball, it seemed like whatever progress her friend has been trying to make was now at a standstill. Bubbles herself couldn’t say she knew what happened at the ball, that night she had been so focused on Morty, everything and everyone else became irrelevant to her. But days later, it seemed like her boyfriend got the gossip from their friend and of how Dewey got himself in a fight with Tiffany’s (ex?)boyfriend at the ball, causing the two of them to be thrown out, and how he even got into another argument with his uncle and Huey right after, and now it seemed like Dewey decided it was time for him to move out of the McDuck Manor. And of course, Morty with his big heart, offered for Dewey to move in with him, and Dewey accepted it.

With family life so tense recently, especially after the Halloween fiasco, it felt good to give some space and to settle into Morty’s and Ferdie’s temporarily. There was some guilt of course, wondering if this was only making tensions at home even worse, but at the end of the day it felt like the right decision to make. His best friend was only trying to help after all, and Dewey appreciated him for that. It was nice that despite his family life being in shambles, he still had good friends who had his back.

Webby didn’t actually believe that Dewey was lying to her. Deep down, she knew he was telling her the truth about missing her, and honestly, so did she. Ever since he left, the mansion has felt much more emptier and quieter, as if the home knew there was someone rightfully missing and couldn’t function the same without him here. She couldn’t function the same without Dewey here. In fact, if she dared to truly think about it— the mansion felt like how it used to feel when it was only just Webby living here—cold, dark and lonely. The only exception was that whereas before she knew how to spend her time making up games and activities to relieve her boredom, nowadays, even with more people living here with her, all the blonde wanted to do was stay locked up inside her bedroom until she shriveled completely away. 

Deep down, Dewey and Webby, and likely the rest of the family, wanted things to return to how they used to be. The only thing was that things were so different now, nothing ever truly would be the same as before. Even if they all moved on and mended the broken relationships, it would be different. And that was Dewey’s fault. There was nothing he could do to change that — no magic, no apologies, nothing would return the family to what was. In fact, he could only imagine how different adventuring with his family would be if they ever began to do that again; he doubted that Louie would be interested in doing so.

Morty answered the silent call to start their special handshake, which was objectively a little more convoluted and lengthy than a “handshake” ought to be, but it had suited them for years—it was a perfectly charming tradition, in his opinion. With the conclusion of the shake, he grinned until Dewey answered the question about where he stood with Tiffany currently. That wasn’t ideal news, considering how complicated break-ups could be, but it wasn’t too disheartening. Morty nodded understandingly, assuring his friend, “It’ll be sorted out soon enough. And when it is—let me be the first to say I’m happy for you, man.”

Jumping into their handshake helped to brighten the mood a little more despite the circumstances. Dewey was currently in a hard place in life but Morty was always there to make him feel better — he couldn’t put it into words how much it was appreciated, but Morty knew without saying. He remained optimistic for Dewey as well, and the triplet smiled at his encouraging words. “Thanks, man.” His brothers and uncle may not have been happy for him, but at least his best friend still was.

“Oh, no contest,” Tiffany replied with a proud smile. In every aspect of her life, she was a winner. This new relationship was only further proof of that fact, because she had definitely won by getting together with Dewey. Maybe they boosted each other’s egos a little too much, always hyping one another up, but she really felt like they were the hottest couple—there was nothing wrong with admitting to that in the privacy of her own home…Still, she wished they could shout it to the world.

There was so much happiness evident in both of their smiles. Lately it seemed like Dewey was his most confident self when he was with Tiffany; while normally he didn’t struggle with his confidence in the first place, the issues with his family really did change that. It felt good to feel normal once again — to feel happy. 

Louie remained skeptical of both the necessity and motive for Dewey to defend Tiffany’s honor by engaging in a physical fight with Randy, but since he mostly just wanted to be left out of the whole matter himself, he elected to drop it and not get on Dewey’s case too hard. He couldn’t resist, however, commenting on how Huey was sure not to let this go so easily. It sounded like the middle triplet already expected as much, prepared for both their eldest brother and uncle to go off on him about the situation. It would be well-deserved if they did, and Louie only wished he would be there to witness it when those dressings-down did happen, glad he didn’t have to put any more of his own energy into it at this point and was able to let others chastise Dewey for his seemingly continuous string of stupid mistakes.

It was a relief that Louie didn’t continue to nitpick his actions regarding the Randy situation, instead silently deciding to let it go. Maybe Louie was just leaving it up to Huey and Donald to do so instead; he didn’t blame him. Dewey knew deep down that the choices he continued to make were exhausting — he was just too impulsive to change that.

Kuromi laughed at Dewey’s response, the perfect blend of sarcasm and real shit. He was so funny, sometimes without even trying, that she couldn’t help but enjoy his presence even if he wasn’t the typical company she kept. They only ran into each other once in a while, but she could really see them getting closer if they spent more time together. “Takin’ over the world with magic was takin’ too long, so I went for music,” she answered cheekily, before getting serious. “It was prob’ly the best bad decision I ever made. Ya just hafta feel the thrill of a whole crowd under yer spell once to know it’s worth it. You ever try it?”

Despite that Dewey wasn’t trying to be funny, Kuromi laughed at his comment — he smiled even though she had taken it the wrong way. It was nice to have someone enjoy being around him after feeling so isolated lately, even if he had mixed feelings about Kuromi. He was just too damn competitive sometimes, even if there was no reason to be. Dewey nodded. “Probably not on the same level as you have, but yeah. It’s an amazing feeling.” Dewey was still pretty new to DJing for more than just a hobby and gaining a bigger audience, but he’d done small things here and there; he hoped his social media presence would help boost his musical audience soon enough. Even if he saw Romi as a rival though, he could still learn a lot from her. “Got any tips for a newbie like me?”

Once he took a seat across from her, the woman reached over and placed a comforting hand over Dewey’s. In spite of how his words had made the woman feel, one thing Daisy wasn’t about to do was stop showing her love and support. She was mature enough to not let her own wants and desires cloud her judgement, and even though for years now, the perspective she had on Donald’s nephews had shifted from one of her being like an aunt to them to more into being an actual motherly figure for them— the designer can’t deny that she wasn’t actually their mother. Even with her in their lives, it was understandable that at one point the boys would have gotten curious about what happened to Della, especially when no one else has given them any answers.

It almost felt foreign to him as Daisy comfortingly put her hand on his — he’d hardly had any physical contact with family recently, and he hadn’t even realized it until he felt her gentle touch. It was a surprise he didn’t instinctively flinch away, but at the same time he felt his nervous system suddenly relax. He’d been so on edge since everything happened, so lonely and sad… at least there was one family member still willing to give him the time of day, even after hurting her too. 

She didn’t need long to think about it—the offer of a picnic on the beach was more enticing than any date they’d had in a long time. Always going to the same old places because they were tried and true favorites was fine, but it was kind of like…playing the same levels over and over again. Unlocking a new map was exciting. The beach had actually been somewhere she’d visited with Dewey lately, though never for a romantic picnic date. Why was she thinking of him right now? Randy was being sweet and even considerate of her streaming schedule; they were going to have a good time and she wasn’t going to think about anything or anyone else.

Dewey only really knew what Tiffany and Randy’s relationship was like based on what she’d told him, never actually seeing them together besides online and on their socials. It was obvious though that his suggestion was something that she wasn’t used to from her boyfriend, seeing her perk up in excitement at the idea. He loved seeing her smile.

Sitting by the table within the kitchen, he had his junior woodchuck guidebook opened against the counter as Huey’s gaze read through the passage of the page he had flipped to; the eldest not paying much attention to anything around him. If he had been, he would’ve been able to look up on time and notice when Dewey had walked inside the room, much less when he started to make his way towards him. Huey would’ve also had ample time to close his guidebook, stand up, and leave. Doing so would’ve been better than staying within the presences of the one person whom he still hasn't forgiven— despite everyone else seeming to have done so.

Dewey knew it was a long shot, but he was determined anyways to be a better brother and make amends. On top of the bombing and the fight, Dewey had topped angering his family by moving in with Morty for awhile, something that had intended to be temporary to let his family cool off from the anger but only seeming to irritate them further. He couldn’t do anything right. Not even a gift that was a genuine gesture. 

Dewey pulled a little laugh out of Tiffany with his agreement that she was the toughest bitch he knew, and she was grateful that he was able to lighten her heart when it felt so heavy, even if it was hard to hype her up as “tough” when she had just been sobbing. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to see her like this again, once all this was settled and done. She promised to call him soon, and then went to find Candice.

Getting one last little laugh out of Tiffany before she left the ball was an accomplishment in itself, satisfied with their conversation as they went their separate ways. It was unfortunate that Dewey ran into Randy not long after, and the night had gone completely south from there. Now his family was pissed at him again, he was staying with his best friend, and he wasn’t sure how Tiffany was going to feel once she knew he and Randy got into a fight that night. He had been anxiously waiting for her to reach out to him since then, a small part of him wondering if she even would at all. Did he screw up his chances with her?

“No!” The eldest scoffed, in complete disbelief that Dewey hadn’t had any part in starting the fight. Say it was true? And say that it was the other guy who started things? Why instead of doing the sensible thing and walking away or going to security for some help, did his brother decide to fight with this guy in return? That’s one of the main things that had Huey the most frustrated!! Because his brother always tends to do things without ever thinking them through, and fine— he can completely understand that when in the heat of the moment, thinking other solutions may have been difficult, however the fact that they were in a public establishment and surrounded by all sorts of people? One would think that Dewey would’ve at least tried to find a more peaceful and logical solution instead of getting into a full-blown fight. 

“Of course,” Dewey muttered, unsurprised by his brother’s refusal to believe him. If the middle triplet wasn’t so stubborn, Dewey probably wouldn’t have even bothered. Huey would never understand — which was probably true even if the siblings didn’t have tension from the bombing. It was one thing to not understand though, Dewey was well aware how different he and Huey were — but to completely dismiss Tiffany? And, even worse, to accuse her of tricking him? Dewey was fuming now, almost more so than when he was fighting with Randy. It felt much more personal when it was his own brother who was against him.