Epilogue

It wasn't what he had had in mind, but he supposed things could have been much worse. Besides, though he didn't yet love Lena, he suspected that Webby's affection for her would help him grow fond of her in some fashion. Webby was tireless in her efforts to keep Lena and Dewey by her side and to demonstrate how much she cared and loved both of them. One day, she'd gone missing, much to their distress, and when she returned, Lena reported that Webby had destroyed her old hole in the wall living quarters. Clearly, Webby had no intention of letting Lena return there.

The Bonding ceremony, such as it was, would have to wait until Webby was capable of speech without upsetting her stitches. The official Ceremony would link them mind, body, and soul. The unofficial part of it, the consummation, hadn't happened yet because every time Dewey brought it up, Webby went scarlet and stammered something. Lena shot Dewey knowing looks but didn't help him out either.

The affair itself was a bit more complex than normal. While threeway relationships were not unheard of in Dragonburg, they were also not very common. Della had presided over the ceremony, along with Mrs. Beakley-Della also stood in for Lena's relatives. Ceremonies usually required the traditional matrimonial stuff mixed with magic spells. (Scrooge was not too fond of even Bond magic, though Dewey had caught his gaze drifting to Goldie time and time again). As the magic spells were meant to be two-directional, they'd needed to be converted into a multi-focal point arc.

All told, though, Dewey was glad when it was over. No one was letting him DJ, nor was he allowed to plan much of it out. Huey had insisted on that and Louie had been in charge of the guest list. Scrooge hated that there needed to be a party in the first place, even if he understood the necessity of it. He'd spent much of the afternoon grumbling while Mrs. Beakley occasionally teased him and Duckworth popped up to say something to him. Dewey wasn't sure what, but it did temper Scrooge a bit.

And there was cake. And dancing. Della even managed to dance a couple numbers, not very quickly, but it was more than she'd been capable of for years. Unfortunately for her, there was no avoiding the amorous Launchpad, who insisted on a few dances of his own. Donald had cut in during the second one, telling Launchpad his sister was too tired, and if breathing fire during one's reception wasn't a sign of bad luck, he would've probably tried to incinerate Launchpad. Della was Donald's younger sister, after all. (By two minutes or something like that.)

With everyone otherwise occupied, Dewey cast a glance down the table at the brides. Webby was gushing over a map with Lena leaning over her shoulder. Dewey shifted in his seat so he was at Webby's other side.

"That's where Uncle Scrooge and Goldie are going," Webby told them. "If Glomgold doesn't try to beat them there."

"They're taking off right after the reception, if they don't end up doing something I don't want to think about before then," Dewey said.

"You don't want to think about it with them, but you keep dropping not so subtle hints at us," Lena scoffed. She squeezed Webby's shoulder and then pecked her on the cheek.

"I thought I was subtle?"

"You're not," Webby said without looking up.

"We're supposed to consummate it after the ceremony," he said and he was aware that he was whining.

"We will, blue," Lena huffed, but a smirk played at her lips. She seemed to be luxuriating in touching Webby as often as she wanted and was currently playing with Webby's ribbon. Webby was aware of it and Dewey didn't miss her soft sighs. It made him feel a little possessive, but, at the same time, he really wanted to get the hell out of here so they could finish the Bonding ritual. And that part had to be done in private.

"We'll consummate and then we'll go," Webby said. She turned her head and kissed Lena's neck. Then she grabbed Dewey's hands and squeezed. She was their lodestone and he would follow her anywhere. Well, he would once hormones were satisfied. How was she not feeling that too?

"I am," she said, sensing his thoughts. The Bonding ceremony had meant that they could feel the gist of their thoughts, but they needed the ritual completed before they could speak mind to mind. "But I want to do this first. Adventures awaits."

She smiled back at Dewey. "And your mom might be able to accompany us for the first time in forever."

Yeah, Dewey did not want to think about his mom right now, thank you very much. He glanced back at her and then at Louie, who was attempting to hussle. Dewey decided he didn't want to know what his younger brother was doing.

Huey, meanwhile, was pacing about and ensuring that everyone was enjoying their food and that things were proceeding according to the correct timeline. If something was a hair off, Dewey knew his older brother would wig out.

"Can't we duck out already?" Dewey complained.

"You want to leave your own wedding reception early?" Lena teased.

"Yes, I do!"

"We could always disappear for a few minutes…" Webby relented.

"A few minutes? Do you really think that's all it'll take?" he sputtered, indignant.

Lena sized Dewey up and then nodded. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

Dewey flushed scarlet. "I can so last more than a few minutes!"

"Didn't need to hear that, Dewey!" Huey called as he passed them.

Lena was horribly smug and he intended to wipe that look off her face as soon as possible. He tugged at his clothes and then groaned, looking at their dresses. "We're gonna need help getting our outfits off, aren't we?"

"Probably," Webby said. "Good thing there's three of us, then."

"I'm not gonna be the problem," he pointed out. "You're the ones wearing corsets and all those layers. How did you even get dressed?"

"Experience," Lena said at the same time as Webby said, "We had help."

"This might take long enough that someone would notice if we were missing…" he hesitated.

"We could always find out," Lena said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Webby's gaze matched hers and Dewey jumped to his feet. The party was in full swing and perhaps he was right. Perhaps no one would notice their absence. Without glancing at the crowd, he led Lena and Webby out of the room. As he did, he was aware of eyes upon them.

"Uh...we're just going to the bathroom. Together. That isn't weird, right?" Dewey said, looking to the girls for help. Lena snorted.

"Totally normal wedding stuff, blah blah blah," Webby added. "Party on without us."

"You two are terrible at lying," Lena said, shaking her head. "Why don't you just wave a giant sign that says, 'We're skipping out'?"

"Wait, is that an option?" he asked and she groaned.

"Try to look less suspicious," she advised, knowing that it was hopeless. "C'mon, people."

Somehow, she ended up leading them, although he doubted she had any more experience in this area than they did. And if she did, Webby was going to be rather upset. But he doubted it. Lena had had feelings for Webby forever. She never would've even considered someone else, not for a second.

So although they were skipping out, there were knowing glances that Dewey hated. He reddened further, resembling a tomato, and Webby blushed too. Lena was, to his shock, likewise flushed, but she held her head up high. She didn't meet anyone's eyes, but she still held her head up. Dewey was oddly proud of her.

At least there was one good thing he could say about this. It had completely taken everyone's mind off Magica. Everyone except Gladstone, that was, who was supposed to Fly with her and perform the Bonding ceremony before everyone met and decided her fate. It would be less harsh with Gladstone Bonded to her, but Dewey was willing to bet it'd be bad enough, regardless.

"Not thinking about that either!" Lena hissed at Dewey.

"Not thinking about what?" Webby asked, whose mind must've been on another topic.

"Never mind," Dewey and Lena said in unison and then stifled groans. So it began, the sharing of the minds.

Dewey cast one last glance back at the party as they walked out of the room. His mother was standing and talking to Launchpad (who still wouldn't leave her alone, damn the man was persistent), Scrooge and Goldie were slow dancing, Louie was grifting, and Huey was fussing. It looked like a tableau and he couldn't resist a smile.

"What?" Lena asked.

"Nothing," he said. It was that for this one moment, this one perfect moment, everything in the universe seemed exactly as it should be.