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Fenton knew that starting a relationship with Gyro meant he had to be prepared for the unexpected, or at least hope they wouldn't have the typical soap opera romance his mother enjoyed in her spare time.
So he expected anything from Gyro, except flowers. He had to admit they were unexpected, and a little curious at the same time. Gyro gave him a pair of sunflowers, a brilliant yellow that resembled the sun. He arranged their stems in a large beaker of fresh water and wrote a note, saying he bought them because they reminded him of Fenton, making Fenton's heart leap with excitement.
Even though the card didn't contain a single word expressing how much he loved him, the gesture made him feel loved. Was that the point? Later, he discovered that the flowers were just a spontaneous gesture; the real gift was a complete collection of scientific journals he'd always wanted to buy but had never been able to get before they were published.
It took him a few hours to find them, because he had no idea they were on his desk. The magazines were there, unmarked but perfectly stacked, amidst the chaos of his workstation, standing out among his old notebooks, whose pages, yellowed with rust, suggested he should throw them away.
Fenton read them immediately, devouring them at the opportunity to learn about the topics he wanted to explore, taking advantage of having a little more access to the lab to experiment with other branches of engineering. He had to stop when Gyro called his attention to go out to eat together. He was so excited about his gifts that he couldn't help but wag his feathered tail with excitement at seeing his mate.
"Thank you so much, Gyro, the flowers and the magazines are amazing!" The duck hugged him without warning and kissed his beak "I love you very much."
"L-likewise," the chicken blushed so deeply he had to cover his face. He couldn't say anything more from then on, as if his mind were filled with words that would never come out. Fenton knew not to worry; he would wait for Gyro to tell him as soon as he could manage to articulate them.
The scientist regained his composure at the end of dinner, just as they ordered dessert, to complain about the lack of coffee in his tiramisu.
(...)
In the time they had been dating, going on dates with barely a day off from work, Fenton had noticed that Gyro wasn't good at talking about his feelings, and he had trouble telling him what was on his mind, unless it was to complain: about the McDuck family, Fenton himself, or anything that went wrong in the lab caused by his inventions.
It was curious to see him struggle when trying to communicate with him, trying for long minutes to say something, but only getting grunts and sporadic requests for coffee. There came a point when the young duck suspected Gyro was trying to communicate telepathically, staring intently at him whenever they spoke, but he tried to downplay it.
He deeply regretted doing so; Fenton knew his boyfriend's mind wouldn't rule out any possibility.
One day, he saw Gyro tinkering with a helmet, covered in hundreds of circuits and electrodes, ready to test it and improve communication between them, claiming it would give him the ability to share his thoughts with him.
"Gyro, my love, you don't need me to read your mind to know what's going through your head," Fenton said. He didn't want to invade Gyro's privacy; his thoughts should be his own. As curious as he was about the words of affection he would use, it wasn't right to spy on him like that.
Fenton was patient. Eventually, his boyfriend would be able to tell him how he felt and hear the words he found so difficult to say. Why couldn't he understand that they had time?
“You don’t understand. I can’t go on like this. There has to be a way to talk to you and tell you what I think about you, at least when you’re not making me angry.” Gyro was furious at Fenton’s refusal to use his new invention. The duck could see the chicken’s exasperation only growing; he was about to unleash the worst in him.
“Right now you’re thinking I’m a prude, a complete idiot, and that anyone in my shoes would want to know what’s going on in their partner’s head.” Said Fenton. It was so obvious how Gyro’s mind worked that he could tell he’d been right on the first try.
“Well, if…” Gyro blushed deeply. Fenton cleared his throat, noticing, and added.
"Now you're thinking you really like it this way?" The duck blushed, a little embarrassed to realize he'd been right, seeing how his boyfriend was trembling with excitement.
"..." Gyro covered his face with both hands and turned his back to avoid blushing further.
"Now you realize you love me even more than before, right?" Fenton tried his luck, gently stroking his back, and saw the chicken nod slightly, trembling with emotion.
It was so sweet. It was things like this that made waiting for Gyro's affectionate words worthwhile. He knew he wanted him, that he loved him; he didn't need anything more.
"Amor mío, I don't need to read your mind to know what you're thinking." The duck finally faced him, removing his hands from his face to look him in the eyes. Gyro's cheeks were so red he looked like he had a fever "But I'll wait as long as you need to tell me."
Fenton gently kissed Gyro's beak, letting him wrap his long, slender arms completely around him. The way the chicken hugged him was touching; it made him feel loved and appreciated.
"Boyd's right, you give the best hugs," Fenton said without hesitation, giving him little kisses under his beak. Gyro seemed a little exasperated all of a sudden.
"I think it's enough that one of us says everything that's on our mind," the chicken protested, discarding his telepathic communication helmet and letting Lil Bulb take it to dismantle it.
"I can live with that, mi amor," Fenton murmured, giving him a huge smile.
(...)
Fenton was sure he didn't have a death wish, much less some kind of unhealthy attraction to painful situations. He had told Gyro this countless times, even when he was in the hospital, completely encased in a cast, hooked up to a machine monitoring his vital signs, with an IV drip coursing through his veins.
His boyfriend never stopped scolding him when he hurt himself using the Gizmoduck armor, whether it was the fault of the villain of the week, his carelessness during upgrades, or a malfunction he chose to ignore in order to rush off and rescue the citizens of Duckburg.
Countless times he ended up in a hospital bed, overwhelmed by needles, casts, and bandages, watching the nurses murmur about the poor soul who dared to be his partner. It was lucky they hadn't figured out he was Gizmoduck by now. For some strange reason, they treated him like a delusional lunatic. Perhaps because every time they administered painkillers, he proclaimed to the world that he was a superhero.
Fenton was resigned to it by now. He'd never been good at keeping secrets, much less tolerating painkillers.
On that particular day, he was too drugged to understand what was happening around him. He'd had to exert himself to calm the nurses when Gyro stormed into his room, clearly upset. He looked so cute when he was angry. Fenton was sure he'd told him that many times, even then, though he'd barely understood. When he'd spoken aloud to tell him how attractive he looked, his words had probably come out too slurred.
"Sir, visiting hours are over..." The nurse wanted to ask Gyro to leave, but the scientist was determined to stay. He looked very worried; he'd probably hurt himself badly. It was hard to tell in the haze of anesthesia from the painkillers.
Fenton was sure he'd be sleeping on the couch for a couple of nights. What a shame; he loved sleeping next to Gyro.
“He’s my husband, my family, you can’t force me to leave him alone,” the chicken’s voice rose above the nurse’s protests. It was amusing to hear her boyfriend scolding others…
Wait a minute. Husband? That’s new.
“Fine, you can stay, but next time leave the information at reception to avoid any problems,” the nurse agreed, tired of dealing with the nervous chicken.
Finally, she left, leaving them alone in the room. Fenton was a little dizzy, and it wasn’t just from the painkillers. He didn’t understand why Gyro said they were married, when he was sure they hadn’t even talked about getting engaged. Although the chicken couldn’t even tell him how much he loved him, he didn’t remember him ever proposing.
“Mi amor, I’m glad you could stay and take care of me, but since when are we married?” The duck didn’t agree with lying, but it seemed Gyro was serious.
"Snap out of it, Fenton, we've been married for months," Gyro said, looking nervous as he carefully reviewed the information the doctors had left in his intensive care unit. Perhaps he was about to say something he thought would anger Fenton. "Remember when Liquidator almost destroyed your heart using your blood pressure?"
Fenton remembered. Back then, the villain had controlled the water in his blood, and he'd lost his life for a few seconds. Gyro yelled at him in four different languages when he recovered, and the duck spent a whole week sleeping on the living room couch. He didn't like to dwell on that defeat.
"Yeah, I remember," Fenton grumbled, slightly annoyed.
"I brought McDuck here and made you sign the marriage papers. The nurse wouldn't have let me stay to take care of you back then if I hadn't." Gyro settled down beside him, filling a glass with water and taking out a plastic straw so he could drink easily, placing it inside.
"When were you planning on telling me?" Fenton wasn't upset. He took a sip of water, trying to ward off the nausea from the drugs coursing through his veins. He knew Gyro was having trouble telling him how he felt, but he would have liked to know he had a husband. "I missed our one-month anniversary."
"..." Gyro was silent for a few moments, blushing deeply as his beak began to tremble. He tried to form words about their relationship. "I'm sorry... it's difficult..."
"Gyro, mi vida, take your time." Fenton saw that the chicken seemed to want to say something, but couldn't. He could barely move in his bed, and the constant sounds of the hospital made the atmosphere anything but peaceful and welcoming. "At least ask me the question?"
Gyro stared at him for a few seconds, took off the small hat from his head, and nervously fiddling with it between his slender fingers, finally managed to coax the unspoken question from his throat. "Fenton, will you marry me?"
"Yes, of course I will." The duck smiled dazedly, happy to receive a kiss from his brand-new husband through the haze of pain and painkillers.
"That doesn't save you from sleeping on the couch for the whole week. Why do you never listen to me…?" Gyro's voice sounded threatening, making Fenton resign himself. He deserved it, but he couldn't help thinking how attractive his husband looked while scolding him.
(…)
This was their first move as a couple, and he had to admit it was quite an experience. Gyro hated throwing away things he no longer needed. He had trouble parting with objects that had been a part of his life, regardless of whether they were now useless. Fenton had to deal with box after box of knick-knacks, gadgets, and trinkets that he doubted would fit in the new house, no matter how big it was.
Boyd was very enthusiastic about helping, using his little rockets and hydraulic arms to push the furniture and appliances into the moving truck. Lil Bulb was busy emptying the boxes they had already filled and being chaotic, avoiding being of any use.
Fenton had the feeling that the little robot's childish behavior had worsened since his older brother returned to his life. Luckily, Boyd and Lil Bulb got along very well, despite their marked differences.
"Fenton, are you sure you want to throw all this away?" Gyro seemed a little worried about the things he wasn't taking to the new house, but the duck was certain he'd packed his most important belongings and gotten rid of everything else.
"Of course, I'm ready to make new memories with you, Boyd, and Lil Bulb in the new house." Fenton couldn't wait to start this new chapter of his life. Now married to the love of his life and living together, it was a dream come true.
Gyro finally smiled and leaned in to give him a kiss. His beak was a little sweaty from moving so many boxes, but he didn't seem to mind. It was nice that his husband had gotten better at showing affection. Even though he couldn't openly tell him how much he loved him, he appreciated every little bit of love he was able to show.
"I love you so much," Gyro said suddenly, catching Fenton's attention. "You always seem to know what to say to make me feel good."
Was he really that overwhelmed by the move? He hadn't realized it, but despite this, he was glad he had helped him.
"I love you too, Gyro," Fenton replied excitedly, making the chicken realize that he had finally told him he loved him. Gyro was flustered, hugged him tightly, and began to murmur how much he loved him.
From that moment on, Fenton never tired of hearing Gyro tell him how much he loved him, every day of his life.
(...)
THE END