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“Wait. You manipulated me into getting what you wanted?” Dewey asked, clearly surprised at what he had heard from his younger sibling. “I— well— when you put it that way..” Louie stammered, the blue clad duck glaring in his direction,”look Dew, I didn’t mean to-“
Dewey snickered and rolled his eyes,”of course you didn’t”. The youngest sibling growled in anger, fighting the urge to pummel his brother onto the ground and start hitting him. Luckily, Huey was there, and placed his hand in front of Louie just in case he were to pounce at their brother.
Though Louie didn’t need to hit Dewey to hurt him; he always had his voice. “It’s not my fault!” Louie yelled. The blue clad duck whipped around to glare at his younger sibling once again,”what?! How is it not your fault?,” he yelled,”you’re the one who manipulated me!”
Louie glared back at him,”it’s not my fault you’re a dunce!”. Dewey paused,”what does that me-“ Huey interrupted. “Guys maybe we should just calm down and-“
“It means you’re not smart, Dewey!” Louie bellowed. “Louie—“ The oldest started. He held his hand up to silence him,“No Hew”, he stepped towards his blue clad brother, jabbing a finger at him as he walked, “It means that you’re an idiot. You’re stupid!”
Huey quickly stood in Louie’s path, trying to block him from getting any closer to his younger brother,”Louie stop!,” he begged, but he was roughly pushed aside.
As the youngest reached his brother, he grabbed him by his blue shirt and spoke harshly,”Nobody will ever, ever, truly love you or give you the attention you crave oh so much”. As Louie glared angrily into his triplet’s eyes, and noticed how terrified and hurt they were. It was hard to notice, as those eyes tried to conceal that, but he saw it, and immediately let go, causing Dewey to crash onto the ground.
“I..” he couldn’t muster up anything. He suddenly felt guilt and regret fill up every ounce of his body. “Dewey, Huey, I’m.. I’m so sorry I don’t know what came over-“ he then heard the squeak of a door followed by a slam. He knew it was Dewey who had run into who knows where and most likely locked the door.
He glanced at Huey, who’s hand was covering his beak, tears threatening to spill. “Huey..” he started, but could not finish. “Lou… why? How could you say that to him?” He asked, voice breaking. Louie looked down in shame and despair, not wanting to look at his older brother’s dreadful face expression. It hurt so much. He really was the evil triplet. He was a monster.
Huey struggled to get up, and walked towards his youngest triplet. Louie tensed up, ready to be hit with pain, but instead was met with a soft touch on his shoulder. “Listen Louie.. what you did wasn’t okay, but..” He sighed,”I know what it’s like to lose control like that. Just, please, try not to take it out on others”. Louie slowly nodded,”okay Hew..”, he answered softly, still staring at the floor.
“I could teach you some ways to handle it.. if you want?” Huey offered, earning a quick nod from his triplet. Everything was quiet for a short while after that.
Suddenly, Louie felt himself get caught in a warm embrace. Huey gently squeezed his sibling to assure him that he understood and that he was there for him. The youngest was deeply touched by this, and let out all he could, trembling and gripping tightly on Huey’s red polo while he sobbed.
~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Dewey silently cried in the closet he chose to hide in. He needed to be alone for a while after hearing words that he had heard before spit out of his own brother’s beak. It brought back memories that he definitely did not want to remember.
“Dewey!” Huey called out, worriedly,”Dewey please come out!” The duck in hiding instinctively covered his beak, crawling as far as he could to the back of the small room.
“Dewey, please come out! I’m sorry I said all those horrible things to you..!” Louie called after the other. Dewey tightened the grip around his beak, resulting in more red marks on his face. He didn’t want to deal with anyone or anything right now; he just wanted to sulk in peace.
At times, when he hated himself most, Dewey would scratch his arms as hard as he could, but not to where it would bleed because then everyone would notice. Also possibly the fact that the sight and smell of blood made him gag. He just liked the feeling. It gave him sort of a relief from the emotional pain. So, that’s exactly what he did.
Then, the door of the closet burst open, and he jumped because of how startling it was. He wasn’t listening to his surroundings and now he’s probably caught.
The one who opened the door closed it, making their way to sit next to Dewey in the back. He couldn’t make out who it was at first, but then he realized it was Huey. He quickly turned the other way, hugging his knees tightly. “Dewey? Are you.. okay?” The oldest triplet asked with uncertainty and sadness. Silence. “Please talk to me, Dew” He tried once more.
“G-go away” Dewey said, voice wavering. “No, Dewey. I just want to help” Huey said in a soft voice. There was more silence, so he reached over and gently touched his younger brother. This caused the trembling duck to recoil and whimper,”I s-said to go away!”
The oldest of the two immediately yanked his hand back from the duckling. He sighed,”You know you aren’t dumb, right?”. Surprise surprise, more silence. Dewey actually thought he was the dumbest, stupidest living being in the entire world, maybe even the whole galaxy. “..right?” Huey asked again, waiting for an answer.
Dewey knew he wasn’t going to quit until he answered, and he didn’t want to speak, so he just shrugged. The red clad duck’s eyes widened,”you.. you actually think you’re dumb?” He asked in a concerned manner. Of course, the youngest of them did not answer, as he felt his eyes sting with tears. He grabbed his chest and tried to keep his breathing steady, but it was no use. It felt like he was suffocating and could hardly breathe.
Huey immediately turned Dewey around to look him in the eyes,”Hey..” he said calmly,”It’s going to be okay” He brought his trembling brother close. “I’m always here for you, Dew. I love you. Don’t let anyone make you think otherwise”
At this point Dewey couldn’t keep his tears in anymore, and let them fall down his cheeks freely. He hated crying in front of others; it made him feel weak and worthless. “I-I’m sorry” he sputtered,”I’m s-so sorry..” he continued to sob against his brother’s chest as Huey caressed his head.
“Don’t apologize. Both me and Louie are here for you, okay?” Huey brought his hands to his younger brother’s face, lifting it up slightly to look into his beautiful sky blue eyes,”we both love you so much. No matter what we say or do to each other, that love still resides. Always.” The last word he stated firmly, and Dewey closed his eyes as he initiated another hug. Suddenly, the door creaked open, and the two ducklings already had an idea who it was.
“Guys? Are you in there?” Louie asked quietly, then cautiously stepped into the closet,”Dew, I-I’m I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean any of that!” Taking another step, he continued, voice starting to waver,”I love you! I promise I do. W-we all love you! You’re the- the sunshine to our dull, dark days. The.. bright stars t-that shine at night. You’re special to us!” He desperately needed his brother’s forgiveness, or possibly just his brother back. Louie couldn’t live if his brother didn’t want to be around him anymore after his stupid slip up,”p-please. I.. I need you Dew,” he clenched his fists as he started to shake,”you- you complete us. Me.”
The duckling in blue ran up and hugged his youngest brother tightly,”I forgive you Lou, no need for that mushy stuff” Louie hugged back almost immediately, crying into his brother’s shoulder. He didn’t think he deserved to be forgiven, but if Dewey forgave him, he felt he should too. They hugged for a long while, with the middle triplet rubbing the youngest’s back, repeating his forgiveness.
Huey stood off to the side, having to wipe a couple of tears from his eyes by watching this moment between his two youngest siblings. Gosh, he loves his brothers so much, and is so proud of them. The more the red clad duckling watched, the more he longed to be a part of the embrace, but, quickly, he pushed that thought away. He didn’t want to ruin their moment. To Huey’s surprise, two hands snuck around him and pulled him into the hug, to which he nuzzled into his dear brothers, squeezing them tight with love,“I love you guys.”