Some of us on the discord were discussing what Dewey would be like as an adult yesterday, prompting this little fic (1325 words) based on my hc that Dewey would become a stage actor
Dewey walks down the busy streets of New York, humming some vocal warmups. While he appears as calm and collected as he ever does, his mind is racing a mile a minute.
Today was his Broadway debut, and he was equal parts excited and nervous. He’d done many a show in the past but those were different. This was BROADWAY, the gold standard of theatre. Sure, this wasn’t a principal role or anything, he was just replacing a departing ensemble member, but still! A Broadway debut is a Broadway debut. It’s a big day, and he’s freaking out a little.
He rounds the corner of the theatre and opens the stage door, making a pit stop to check in for the day and readjust his bag. He nearly drops his coffee but manages to set it down to adjust his grip before continuing on to his dressing room.
He swings the door open and finds that Rico and Alex, the castmates who share the room with him had already arrived.
“Hey, guys!” Dewey says as he walks over to his designated area. He pauses suddenly before he can put his things down. “What’s all this?”
Surrounding his mirror were a pair of blue balloons, some confetti, and a handwritten banner on top that read “Congrats on your debut!”
Rico speaks up, “It’s your first show tonight, Dewey! If that isn’t cause for celebration I don’t know what is.” Alex nods in agreement.
“Aw, thanks guys,” Dewey smiles, clearing away some of the confetti to put down his bag.
“So how’re you feeling? Ready to show the world what you’re made of?” Alex asks.
“Yeah, I’m really excited, I’ve been dreaming about this for years,” he says, pulling out his notes to review once he finishes warming up.
He spends the next few minutes stretching, uncharacteristically quiet, before sighing and asking, “Guys, you’ve both done this for a while, so… how did you get over the nerves? It still feels insane that I’m even here, and I’m really worried that something’ll go wrong and ruin my chances of continuing here.”
Rico sighs, “I’m not gonna lie, that fear just takes time to get over. But trust me, you’re gonna do great tonight, and soon enough you won’t be so anxious anymore.”
The trio sit in silence for a moment before Alex pipes up, “Didn’t you mention that one of your brothers had a history with anxiety? Maybe he’ll have some advice for you.”
Dewey nods, then grabs his phone from his pocket, pulls up Huey’s contact, and starts a video call.
“Hey Dewey, what’s up?” Huey’s voice picks up through the phone speakers.
“Hi, Hubert. Did you guys just land or something?” Dewey asks, noticing Huey’s surroundings.
“Yeah, we just landed, oh… fifteen minutes ago? We just got to baggage claim- sorry, one sec,” he says, turning to talk to someone off-screen.
Suddenly Uncle Scrooge appears on screen. “Dewey, lad! Can- can ya see me- how does this thing- curse me kilts, what did Ah just-“ Scrooge says as he confusedly fiddles with the phone.
“Uncle Scrooge, I’ll hold the phone for you,” Huey interjects as he grabs his phone back and centers them both on screen.
“So why’d you want to talk to me, Dew?” Huey asks.
Dewey pauses for a moment to gather his thoughts before explaining. But he pauses a moment too long because more faces suddenly attempt to crowd into the view of Huey’s phone camera, all trying to greet him at once. Dewey snickers a little watching Uncle Donald, the last one to get back from claiming their baggage, trying to squeeze into view with little success.
“Hey guys,” Dewey says. “I love you all, but if I could maybe just talk to Huey for a second? I’ll see you guys tonight.”
Reluctantly the rest of the group backs out of frame, leaving once again only Huey.
Sighing amusedly, Huey asks, “Okay, so what did you want me for, Dew?”
“Okay, so, like, I was wondering, basically, like-,” Dewey pauses for a second. “How do you handle your anxiety? Cause I’m kinda freaking out a little right now.”
Huey thinks for a moment. “Well, different things work for different people, but whenever my nerves are getting to me I usually like to take some deep breaths, or you could do the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise, ummm… yeah, I’d say those are my go-to's. I’d also say that drinking coffee wouldn’t help with nerves at all but I don’t think you’d listen to that one, so…”
Dewey laughs, “Thanks, Huey.”
“Of course, Dew. And also remember, we’re all gonna be there cheering for yo-,” Huey gets cut off by a nearby thud, which he turns to look at.
“Uncle Donald’s suitcase just broke,” Huey explains, walking over to help. “You’re gonna do great tonight and we can’t wait to see you after the show! Break a leg!” Huey signs off.
“Bye Huey, see you guys later,” Dewey replies, ending the call.
“Man, it’s still so weird to me that the richest duck in the world is your uncle,” Alex says.
“I don’t know if that’s more surprising or the fact that he doesn’t have a private plane to get here on,” Rico adds.
“Well, we do have a plane but the pilot can’t make it out here until next week. Aaaaand I’m realizing how much of a spoiled rich kid I sound like right now,” Dewey starts laughing again.
“Nah, if you want a really spoiled rich kid that would be more of a… what’s his name? That creep who got all his money from his grandmeemawmaw or whatever?” Alex retorts.
“Doofus Drake?” Rico supplies.
“Yes, him!”
“Oh, you guys don’t even know the half of it,” Dewey exclaims, getting back into his stretching.
——————————————————————-
Dewey opens up the stage door to exit the building. It was dark out now. He was one of the earlier cast members out of the doors, so there was a pretty good-sized crowd greeting him. As he worms his way through them, some congratulate him for making his Broadway debut, and one woman even asks for a picture, which catches him slightly off guard.
Eventually, he makes his way past the main crowd where he is finally greeted by his family, who all promptly give him a bear hug.
“Dewey!!! That was amazing!” Webby exclaims once they all pull away.
“I knew you’d do great,” Huey concurs, grinning.
“Theatre has never been my thing, so believe me when I say that that absolutely blew me away,” Louie adds.
“I’m so proud of ye, lad,” Scrooge says. “Ye’ve done well for yerself.”
Uncle Donald, at a loss for words, smiles and gives him another bear hug.
Della then pries Donald off of him to give him her own hug.
“You boys never cease to make me proud,” she says as she lets him go.
“Aw, you guys,” Dewey says, laughing a little. “You’re gonna get me emotional.”
“We’ve all been emotional since you came on stage, it’s your turn now,” Huey jokes.
Dewey laughs, “Okay, that’s fair.”
“Not to interrupt a nice family moment, but would you guys like a picture?” Rico says suddenly from behind Dewey, startling him.
“Oh my god, Rico! You can’t scare me like that!”
Dewey recollects himself and turns back to face his family.
“Guys, this is Rico, one of my castmates. Fam, Rico, Rico, fam. And yeah, I think we’d like a picture.”
An obscene amount of pictures later, everyone has their phones back with significantly less storage space than before.
“Thanks, Rico!” Dewey calls out as his castmate departs.
“See you tomorrow,” he yells back.
“Well,” Della says. “I think it’s time for some celebration! What time were those reservations for, Uncle Scrooge?”
“… In ten minutes.”
“Oh. Well, let’s get going then!” She exclaims, prompting the group to hurry off to this restaurant, dragging a confused but happy Dewey along with them.
