Curious Calico
Summary: Della gives Gyro a gift.
Rating: General Audiences
Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Word Count: 2,145
Also Available On AO3 !!!
"Della you know I hate-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, glasses. Whatever. Just trust me for once, Gearloose."
Gyro and Della were… an odd friendship to say the least. Constantly going against each other, fighting almost daily, in all honesty, most people had assumed they hated each other. But if someone said something bad about one? The other would make sure you wouldn't be saying anything to anyone for a few days.
Della was… energetic. Sometimes too much so. At times when she was too hyper to really think through her decisions, Gyro would be able to calm her down. No one knew why, but hey, anything to stop Della from skydiving off the roof of the money bin.
The pair also shared an interest in science. More specifically, Gyro needed test subjects and Della was reckless. So at every mention of testing a new ray gun or appearance altering chemical, Della would be there without hesitation. This constantly had Gyro scared of hurting her, though he'd never admit he actually cared about her wellbeing, insisting he was only worried about getting fired.
And that dynamic was part of how they worked even now, as Della dragged Gyro (who couldn't see a thing, thanks to Della snatching his glasses) across the street.
"Trust has nothing to do with it! We're next to the highway, I could die! And don't pretend Mr. McDuck would appreciate having to replace another lab employee after last month's incident." He rambled on, frantically trying to see ahead of him, barely avoiding tripping on the curb.
"Oh please. Uncle Scrooge didn’t even like that guy. But I guess you're right," She started, no longer running. She placed Gyro's glasses back onto his face, letting go of his hand as he went to adjust them. "We're here anyways."
Fixing his glasses, Gyro shook his head, dizzy. Once his vision returned, he looked up, only to turn back towards Della, confused and annoyed.
"Della… Is there a reason we're at my apartment? You know I have plans that need to be finished, if this is another one of your 'self-care' attempts I'm going to-" He was cut off by Della slapping her hand over his beak.
"Oh shut it, G. It's only half a self-care attempt. I got you something. And before you start whining again, I already got Scrooge's permission to drag you away from your precious robots."
"I will have you know that those 'robots' are built to take care of smaller tasks around the lab and the bin, replacing the need for hired help. They'll save Mr. McDuck millions-"
"We get it. My best friend's a genius. Just go inside." She pushed him towards the door, grinning at the way he got visibly awkward when she called him 'her best friend'. She watched as he rolled his eyes and walked up to the door, making another teasing comment as he pulled out his keys. "But you know… If you actually took those self-care days maybe I wouldn't be so uhm… What was that word you used?"
"Adamant." Gyro sighed.
"Yeah, that! Wouldn't be so adamant about it. I know you always say you're the smart one but I don’t think I get enough credit for what I-" She was cut off by Gyro, sounding panicked.
"Why is this door unlocked?! I could've sworn I locked it this morning. No, I know I did-"
"Calm down, I probably just forgot to lock it."
"What do you mean you forgot to lock it, you haven't been over in more than a week. This could be a break-in!"
"Nah," She shrugged. "I was here this morning looking for something."
"I was in the lab last night, you wouldn't have been able to get in-"
"I picked the lock." She said, casually.
"You what?!" Gyro squawked.
Della just laughed, pushing past him and opening the door, walking into the apartment. "See? No one here. Just me, you're fine." She walked over and grabbed Gyro's hand again, pulling him in with her. As they entered, Gyro yanked his hand back, scoffing.
"You think you can just causally talk after admitting to breaking into my apartment?!"
"Yes?" She answered, laughing. "What are you gonna do? Call the cops? They barely trust you as is after that ray gun went off in the park. You know you really shouldn't test weapons near kids." Gyro rolled his eyes at the reprimanding, laughing quietly.
"Well, that kid was at least 8. Should've known not to touch the giant laser gun. Natural selection in my opinion." He started, smirking. "Wait, no! You can't pretend you didn't break into-"
"I'll pay you back! Jeez, calm down. Just go sit over there. I brought snacks." Della pushed him over to the couch before walking towards the kitchen. Gyro called after her.
"By 'brought' you mean 'left them here when you broke into my home this morning, right?"
"Yep!" She pushed things aside in the cabinets, pulling out the container she'd hid there earlier.
She walked back into the living room, ignoring the glare she felt in the back of her head. She slid the container onto the coffee table, then looked at her friend, expectantly.
Gyro opened the box and pulled out a cookie, looking at it hesitantly. "…Are they gluten free?"
"Well I wouldn’t try to kill you, would I?"
He stared at her silently, eyebrows raised.
"Okay, point taken. Yes, they are." Della insisted, putting her hands up and walking back to the kitchen. "Cherry blossom tea?"
"Yes, thank you." He sighed, accepting that, once again, the girl who barely understood basic algebra had managed to trick him. (Really, how did she keep doing that?)
The sizzling of the kettle on the stove mixed with the lack of sleep let the fog in his head get heavier, and he looked around the room tiredly.
His eyes settled on the closet door down the hall next to him, and he frowned. In that closet were the scrapbooks and cameras filled with memories from his childhood. Journals documenting his time in Tokyolk. He'd tossed them into boxes the second he got the offer to come work for the McDucks.
He never ended up unpacking them.
"Gearloose?"
"Hm?"
"Gyro!" Della waved a hand in front of his face, and Gyro startled, sitting up straight.
"Sorry, sorry. How long was I out?"
"Just a few minutes, how long have you been up?" She asked with false casualty.
Narrowing his eyes, Gyro sipped his tea, placing it down on the table before answering. "28 hours."
"Yeah, uh huh. Try again, Gearloose." She dropped the casualty, scoffing when she found Gyro pretending to be checking his texts. Snatching the phone from his hand, she dropped herself onto the couch next to him, ignoring his protests.
"Okay! 4 days or so, it's not so bad." He rolled his eyes, swatting away her hand that was reaching to mess up his hair.
"I'd normally lecture you-" Della started, before she was promptly cut off.
"I am well aware of the consequences-"
"But," She continued, shoving the mug of tea back into Gyro's hands to keep him quiet. "I know you don't want to hear it, and I kind of want you to be in a good mood for this, so…" She trailed off, standing and walking over to the hallway.
Gyro stood to follow her, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Good mood for what? Where do you think you're going?" He heard the bathroom door open around the corner, and Della shouted back from down the hall.
"Stay in there! I got you a present!" She said excitedly, and the chicken frowned.
"Della, you know I'm not comfortable-"
"Don't worry! It wasn't expensive, not even by your standards, so it's not a handout, and you can take it guilt free!"
He didn't answer that, simply sighing and sitting back down. When Della didn’t come back for a minute, then five, and he became self aware of his hand tapping the arm of the couch, he called out to her again.
"Della what are you doing in there?"
"Hold on! Almost got it…" A clatter of something falling over had Gyro standing again. "Got it! Okay wait in there! And close your eyes!"
"This is ridiculous…" He muttered, but closed his eyes nonetheless. As he stood there, he heard Della rush into the room, and a heavy thud as she placed something on the table.
"Okay, I'm gonna just grab your hands, watch your step," She pulled him over to the table. "And just sit on the floor here."
She let go of his hands, and he knelt down. "Della if something explodes in my face I will personally make sure you never know another day of peace in your life."
"You and I both know that I have never known peace ever. Now shut up and open your eyes!"
…
"Della…"
"Don't you love it?!"
"This is a cat."
An answering high-pitched meow came from the crate on the table.
"I know! You're gonna love her I just know it! Come on, let her out!"
"What, is she rabid or something?"
"You really just have no faith in me, do you?"
Rolling her eyes, Della reached to the crate, unlatching the door and picking up the kitten with both of her hands.
It was a calico, no more than three weeks old, patches of brown and orange, a spot of white on its left ear.
"Come on, just hold her!" She put the kitten on Gyro's lap, moving his hands behind and over it, stopping it from jumping off.
Despite his comments, Gyro picked the cat up, cradling her in his hands and lifting her up to look at her.
"She's just like you, G. She can barely see, either!" Della laughed, trailing off when she didn't get an annoyed scoff or needlessly wordy joke in response.
"…Gyro? You good?"
He was holding the cat up to his chest as she stood up on her back legs, resting her front paws on his face.
"Well aren't you just a curious thing…" He muttered. "Della?"
"Yeah?"
"Why?"
"Well I figured you had to talk to someone and ya keep ignoring my offers to set you up with a therapist. Plus you mentioned a few months ago that you had a cat growing up so I figured you'd probably want one of those over a dog. But anyways I cleared some paperwork and if you're not doing anything crazy dangerous for once she can come into the lab to keep you from getting overwhelmed and stuff, Uncle Scrooge is fine with it."
She smiled widely, watching her best friend's face morph as she spoke, from confusion to shock to (though he'd never admit it) a sort of sad smile.
"You broke into my apartment…"
"Yes."
"Tore me away from my projects…"
"Yep."
"For a cat."
"For you." She insisted. "So hurry up and say something so I know whether I should hug you or start running."
She watched only slightly anxiously as Gyro stared at her for another moment before bursting out laughing. His hands shot up to cover his mouth as he laughed, leaving the cat on his lap to jump onto the coffee table. She lied down on the table, tilting her head at the chicken curiously.
"You-" Gyro spoke through his laughs, finally calming his breathing. "You're insane, you know that?" He sighed.
"Thank you, Della."
"I'm sorry? Did I just get the first ever 'thank you' out of the Gyro Gearloose?"
"I take it back." He said, completely deadpan.
"Okay, okay. You're welcome nerd."
He smiled again, watching as the cat curled up back in his lap now that he'd calmed down.
"Where did you find her?"
"Gladstone's cat had kittens, this one ended up stowing away in my bag. You tend to not question anything that happens at Gladstone's place."
"Makes sense, I suppose." He hummed.
"Anyway…" Della sang, "Mochi here is gonna watch over you and keep you sane when I'm not there to do it for her."
"Watch your- wait what did you call her?" He squawked, looking at her with something akin to disappointment.
"Mochi!" She laughed. "You know, since you… lived in Japan…" She trailed off, pouting. "You never like my jokes."
"You're terrible." Gyro said, hiding (and failing) to hide his laugh.
"Aw, you love me!" She threw herself into his side, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him. She laughed out an apology as Mochi jumped onto the arm of the couch to avoid her arms.
"Get off of me, Della, you're crushing me!" He complained, but hugged her back anyway, not bothering to hide his smile anymore.
Mochi looked at them from the arm of the couch, and tilted her head again.
They really were an odd friendship, weren't they?
