Heart's Desire, Heart's Pain {LouWebena}

Reach

Gladstone Gander wasn't the best man, Louie could see that now. After the Lui Hai incident, Louie was more aware of the goose's flaws and... attitude, to keep it PG for the audience. Nonetheless, deep inside Louie knew she still respected him.

And she still craved his attention and pride.

So, when they decided to board the Sunchaser once again to visit Gladstone at another Casino, Louie decided not to wear a skirt. She felt so wrong without it, wanting to hide in the plane's bathroom and never come back out.

Huey squeezed her hand as they got closer to their destination. "I packed one of your skirts in case you change your mind."

Louie smiled, glad to have her brother by her side during this since Lena and Webby were both at home, sick. She shook her head, squeezing his hand back. "No... I think I'm good... I'm just not ready to come out to him yet..."

Dewey leaned over onto Louie's shoulder. "Why are you so worried about it anyway? He treated you badly last time, he doesn't deserve your consideration."

"Dewey..." Huey said, warningly.

That got Louie thinking. Why did she care? Gladstone hurt her the last time she spent time with him. He tossed her aside like a worn-out toy just because he wanted to use her uncle Donald. Okay, yeah, he wasn't great and didn't really treat her right... but why does she still care what he thinks?

Why does she care what anyone thinks?

"I don't know." she says, instead of voicing any of those thoughts. "I just... I've respected him for so long..."

Huey frowned. "Just don't let him change you, Louie."

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So far the day was going alright for Louie. Spending time with Gladstone wasn't as bad as she was fearing it to be, though she still cringed every time Gladstone ever implied her to be a boy.

Their last stop was at a tailor, a tradition of theirs that Louie once looked forward too. Now she wasn't sure how she should feel. She could suffer through wearing a tux the rest of their time together...

Or she could come out.

Instead she decided to linger by some racks as Gladstone was fitted for a tux. She found herself browsing through the items, listening to Gladstone attempt small talk. She wasn't paying attention until his tone lost it's enthusiasm.

"Look, greenbean," he said, glancing over his shoulder at her. "I know I'm not the best at recognizing people's feelings... But... Look, I just wanted to say... I'm sorry for what happened at Lui Hai's..." Louie stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. He gave the girl a sincere smile then turned away. "To make it up to you, everything is on me today, no matter what it is, clothes, a tattoo your uncle Donald would kill me for..."

Louie glanced over to the female section of the store. She has been wanting to buy a new dress for awhile now. But would Gladstone actually agree to it? How would he react if he sees what she's picked out? Will he be upset?

She looked over to him, replaying his words in her head. He apologized. Maybe... just maybe she could trust him again?

Louie found her feet moving before she could stop them, her eyes already catching sight of a short, mint green sundress covered in yellow flowers. The fabric was soft and felt nice under her fingertips. It was perfect. She grabbed it's hanger and walked over to Gladstone, whom was now paying for his tux.

"Uh, uncle Gladstone, can I get this?" Louie asked, trying to sound less scared than he felt.

"I said anything greenbean so, of-" Gladstone turned around, words dying in his throat. His tone and gaze turned soft, "Oh, Lou..." he cleared his throat, glancing at the tailor. "Of course you can, we'll get it fitted and then we can go get ice cream, how does that sound?"

"That sounds okay..."

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"So... what do I call you?" Gladstone asked, licking at his rocky-road ice-cream cone.

"Louie?" she raised an eyebrow at him, shoveling a spoonful of sherbet into her beak. "Wha' el'?"

Gladstone chuckles, fondly. "I mean pronouns... Are you a girl or...?"

Louie shook her head. "I'm genderfluid... I switch between genders, I guess... I just let everyone know how I'm feeling... Today I'm a girl."

"Huh..." Gladstone tapped his chin with his ice cream -Louie snickered but said nothing about the chocolate goatee he now had. They finished their ice cream in silence and threw away the leftovers in the nearest trash can.

After stretching, Gladstone linked his arm with Louie's. "C'mon M'lady, I still owe you a night on the town."