11Summary: Even though they are his kids, Donald treated them like it. Even though he's not their dad, Dewey and his brothers have thought of him as such for a long time now. But did they ever convey that to him? Dewey realizes that Preening Day isn't as bad as they first thought. (A dad Donald story from Dewey's perspective. I also like to think he unofficially adopted Webby.)
Dewey burrowed further into the warmth of his bed. He tried to go back to sleep but loud thumping from somewhere in the mansion prevented it. Groaning, he pulled the blanket off his face and sat up. Dewey plucked his phone off the bedside table and looked at the date. He turned the phone off and pulled the covers back up. Suddenly, he shot back upright. Dewey grabbed the phone again and looked at the day. Friday… then… that means…!
"Oh no." Dewey darted out of bed. He put his phone in his pocket and looked around his room for a way to escape. He knew he couldn't go out the front door. His eyes landed on the vent by his closet. He ran over, screwed the bottom two screws off, and crawled inside. He just put the vent back in place when his door opened. He ducked away from the vent and quieted his breathing.
He heard Donald call out, "Dewey? Are you in here?" Dewey listened as Donald walked to the closet and opened it up. His shadow fell on the vent and Dewey held his breath. He slowly exhaled when Donald's shadow moved away and he heard the bed sheets rustle. It felt like forever before Donald finally left the room. Dewey thought about going back out, but he knew Donald could just come by and check again later. He crawled through the vents and made his way towards Webby's room.
Dewey peered through the grates in Webby's vent and whispered,"Webby" when he saw her reading on her bed. She looked over before making her way over and kicked the vent open.
"Dewey? What are you doing here?" Dewey crawled out.
"I'm hiding from Uncle Donald. It's preening day and I really want to avoid it for as long as possible."
Webby looked confused. "Preening day?"
Dewey rubbed his face with his feathers. "Every month Uncle Donald likes to preen us. We don't have to do it since we all bathe but he insists on doing it anyway."
Webby frowned, "I don't think I've ever been preened before."
Dewey sighed, "It's not that it hurts, it actually feels good to have my feathers cleaned and fluffed, but it's so embarrassing. We can preen ourselves for the most part and it always takes forever. I'd rather just hide and do it myself so that when he finally catches me, he only has to get the back of my head."
"But why does he preen you guys then?"
"He thinks it's a good way to show his affection or something silly like that. We already think of him as our dad, we just call him Uncle Donald because he insisted on it when we were little."
Webby frowned again, "Have you told him that you don't like being preened?"
Dewey chuckled, "We tell him all the time. We always complain." Suddenly, there was knocking on Webby's door.
Dewey scrambled under Webby's bed while Webby opened the door.
"Hiya Webby! Have you seen the boys?" Donald quacked. Dewey held his breath, please don't tell him! he thought.
"No Mr. Duck I haven't."
Donald chuckled, "How many times have I told you to call me Donald."
"Why are you looking for them anyway?"
Donald sighed, "It's preening day. I like to gather the boys up and preen their feathers but none of them like it."
Dewey heard the sadness in Donald's voice and felt a little guilty. He continued looking at the floor while Donald continued.
"My parents used to preen me a lot when I was little. After they died and I moved in with Scrooge, I always missed it. Scrooge doesn't like to show affection much. I figured I could show them the affection that meant so much to me." Okay, now I really feel guilty, Dewey grimaced.
"Have you told Huey, Dewey, and Louie how much it means to you? Maybe they will be more cooperative about it?" Webby questioned.
Dewey heard Donald sigh again, "No it's alright. It probably doesn't mean much to them anyway." Dewey winced at that. Okay, I'm meeting up with the others for sure now once he leaves. We have to talk about this.
"I wish Granny preened me." Dewey felt surprised. He guessed Donald was too since he hesitated before he replied, "
Well it's different for everybody, there's really no need for it as long as you bathe regularly."
"I understand but it's really nice to be shown that affection. I know Granny loves me but she's so busy that I don't really get to spend time with her. Honestly, I spend more time with you every day than with her." Webby sounded so sad. Dewey hoped that Donald could cheer her up. He already knew that Donald really liked Webby and had unofficially adopted her.
He was proven right a moment later when Donald nervously asked, "Would you like me to preen you? I know I've only lived here for a couple of months but I already think of you as a member of the family." Dewey smiled at that. He and his brothers already thought of her as their sister.
"Really? Could I call you Uncle Donald then?"
Donald chuckled again, "Of course you can. You can call me whatever you want. Now if you sit on the bed I can preen your feathers for you." He heard Webby run to the bed before jumping on it. He heard Donald walk over before settling down on the bed as well.
Dewey waited until Donald left the room before crawling out of the bed. Webby narrowed her eyes at him once he stood up.
"I don't know why you complained so much! Uncle Donald is so nice to you guys and I didn't realize how much effort goes into preening the feathers on your arms and head. I don't think they've ever been this clean and fluffy." That's true, her feathers are really fluffy and perfectly aligned now.
"I know. I'm gonna round up Huey and Louie real quick to tell them about what I overheard. Then we'll all go to Uncle Donald and apologize."
Webby smiled at that. "Good! He really is like a dad so you guys need to let him know how much you care about him." At that, Webby shoved him back into the vent and closed it. Dewey laughed and he crawled through the vents again. He found Huey and Louie hiding in the Living Room vent listening to the radio. Uncle Scrooge was sitting in his armchair with the radio on as he read the paper.
"Huey, Louie, we need to talk. Follow me." He led them back to Webby's room. "Hiya guys!" Webby greeted as she let them back in. Huey and Louie noticed how clean and fluffed she looked.
"Did Uncle Donald preen you?" Huey questioned.
Louie looked mildly surprised. "I guess he considers you family now" Louie laughed.
Dewey smiled, "I hid in here to escape Uncle Donald. However, he came by looking for us. He told Webby that the reason he always preens us is that his parents used to before they died and he felt a little lonely since Uncle Scrooge doesn't often to show affection. It means a lot to him and I feel pretty guilty now." Huey and Louie looked guilty too.
"Well, let's go then!" Huey grabbed their hands and they went to find Donald together.
The three of them walked out of the mansion and knocked on the door of the boathouse.
They heard Donald shout, "Coming!" before the door opened up. He looked really surprised to see them there.
"Boys? What are you doing here?" Huey, Dewey, and Louie all looked at each other before Dewey stepped forward and hugged Donald.
"We're sorry we always ran from you during preening day. We didn't realize that it meant so much to you." Donald was speechless.
Louie added, "It's not that we didn't like it, it's just that it's kinda embarrassing."
Huey pitched in."I guess parents are just always going to be embarrassing and we'll have to get used to it, right guys?"
Dewey smiled, "Right! We're ready to be preened, Dad!" Donald looked at them with wide eyes before they filled with tears. Donald gathered all three in his arms.
"Oh, my boys! I love you so much!" Dewey smiled, glad that Donald knew just how much they loved him.
