authenticcadence18art - Tumblr blog

authenticcadence18art · 3 years

Text

“Can’t Help Falling in Love” Ch. 11

AO3

First Chapter

Previous Chapter

…

HIIIII HELLO EVERYONE!!!!!!! It’s been. Quite some time. 😅 If you’re still here THANK YOU!!!!!! It is greatly appreciated!!! I hope this chapter was worth the wait, lol!!

I posted the first chapter of this fic one year ago yesterday! Consider this chapter a celebration of that 😊. The past year has been…wild, to say the least, but writing this fic and getting to share it with you guys has been one of the biggest highlights of it!!!😁💕

Thanks as always to my lovely beta and friend @youruinedmylifebynotbeingreal, and thank YOU so much for reading! I hope you enjoy!!!

...

“Wait a minute!!!”

Phineas froze in place (which was ironic, considering his realization struck in the middle of removing the crumb cake from a very hot oven).

“You called me your little crumbcake in your letter! And we just made a crumb cake! That wasn’t a coincidence, was it?”

“It was 100% not a coincidence!” Isabella called over her shoulder as she rummaged through a cabinet across the kitchen. “I wanted to make a crumb cake with my little crumbcake!”

A handful of silent seconds passed. And then she shuddered, a frothing wave of decade-old secondhand embarrassment cascading violently over her shoulders.

“Okay, I’m never calling you that again,” she announced dryly (since said frothing wave of secondhand embarrassment was purely metaphorical). “It’s way too weird.”

“What?? No!!” Phineas gently set the crumb cake on the counter, taking care to make sure it wasn’t going to fall, before turning to face her. “Isabella, it’s not weird at all!! I think it’s cute.”

“You only think it’s cute because you like me so much,” Isabella replied with a grin. “Trust me, there’s PLENTY of better pet names out there. I’ll think of some new ones for you.”

She crossed to his side of the kitchen and set the plate she’d retrieved on the counter. “Alright, all we need to do now is add powdered sugar. Do you have a sifter?”

“I sure do!”

Phineas retrieved said sifter from a drawer and turned it over in his hands a few times.

“….I’m actually an expert powdered sugar sifter, you know….” he whispered conspiratorially.

“Oh, really?” Isabella replied amusedly.

“Yeah! A few years ago, my mom put me on beignet duty for the Mardi Gras block party,” he explained. “I built a machine to actually COOK the beignets but figured out pretty quickly I’d have to powder them by hand to avoid making a huge mess…it took FOREVER. Aaand I still ended up making a mess. But now I’m an expert!!”

“Those beignets DID taste really good,” Isabella mused. “I remember thinking the powdered sugar to dough ratio was perfect!”

(She wasn’t just saying that for Phineas’s benefit, though she knew he would appreciate the compliment. As a former-Fireside Girl and baked goods’ extraordinaire, identifying quality desserts was practically in her blood!)

“Thanks!!!” Phineas replied. “I’m surprised you remember that!”

“Well, YOU made them. Everything you make is extraordinary. Of course I remember,” Isabella replied with a soft grin.

“Well, I’m not sure I’d say they were EXTRAORDINARY…” Phineas chuckled sheepishly. “…but thank you.”

“They WERE extraordinary,” Isabella insisted. “And you’re welcome!”

“It actually took awhile to get the ratio right, I’m flattered you noticed!” Phineas replied. “I did a bunch of calculations to figure it out…”

Isabella just listened with a smile as Phineas rambled on about the intricacies of beignet preparation and set to sifting sugar over the crumb cake.

And if his focus faltered a little when she hugged his middle from behind and nestled her head on his shoulder to get a better view, he didn’t show it.

….perhaps getting a better view wasn’t Isabella’s primary motivator in this situation. But she’d been waiting over a decade to indulge in coupley activities with Phineas as an actual couple: she wasn’t going to let this opportunity to do so pass her by!

She was so enamored with his closeness and the gentle lull of his explanations, so caught up in the sweet domesticity of the moment, it took her a few minutes to realize…it had been a few minutes.

Was Phineas taking his time with this (relatively simple) task on purpose?

“…hey, how long does it take an expert powdered sugar sifter to sift sugar over a crumb cake?” she murmured into his ear.

“Normally? I assume it would take about half a minute,” Phineas replied matter-of-factly. “ …but . If said expert powdered sugar sifter is being hugged by the love of their life, it usually takes longer. Could take minutes. Hours, even.”

Isabella giggled (and bit her tongue to keep from squealing at being referred to as the love of Phineas’s life because aAAAAAH!!!!) and brushed a quick kiss to his cheek before stepping back and standing at his side. “As much as I’d love to hug you for hours, we don’t want the crumb cake to get cold.”

“Eh, I’d take a hug from you over warm crumb cake any day. But you do make a good point.”

Phineas gave Isabella a smile before pouring the excess sugar into a bag and setting the sifter down. Then, his eyebrows shot up, seemingly in realization.

“Hey....what if I started calling you ‘my little crumbcake’?” he asked. “Or just ‘crumbcake’? I don’t mind if you don’t want to call me that, but would be a shame to let such a cute nickname go to waste.”

Isabella hit him with a playful glare. “If you do that, you’ll find yourself on the receiving end of an ominous patch-related threat. Just because you’re my boyfriend now doesn’t mean you’re exempt from them.”

“Boyfriend, huh?” Phineas grinned, not deterred in the slightest by Isabella’s ominous patch related threat-threat. “That’s the first time you’ve called me that!”

“Well, we’ve known our feelings are mutual for...what, over half an hour now?” Isabella shrugged. “And we’ve already talked about being in a relationship, so I figured you being my boyfriend was implied.”

(She definitely hadn’t been trying to figure out how to casually call Phineas her boyfriend without outright asking him if he WAS officially her boyfriend. And she certainly wasn’t very relieved that he’d taken being referred to as such well. No way.)

“Soooo…” Phineas slid his hand across the counter until it found Isabella’s. “…if you’re officially referring to me as your boyfriend….does that mean I get to officially refer to you as my girlfriend?”

He’d WANTED to be the picture of suaveness in this moment, to state the obvious as succinctly and matter-of-factly as possible.

…..but the quiver of excitement in his voice had likely ruined any chances of that.

Isabella beamed down at their entwined fingers and then back up at him.

“…yes. Yes it does.”

For a handful of seconds, they just gazed at one another fondly, hands still together, neither trying to conceal how happy they were.

Maybe titles like “girlfriend” and “boyfriend” were arbitrary, especially for two lifelong best friends who were already well aware of how much they meant to one another (both in a platonic and romantic sense).

But….it still felt incredibly special to finally get to be boyfriend and girlfriend. Partners. Together. Officially.

Isabella eventually broke the awe of the moment with a wry smirk and a joke.

“I like ‘girlfriend’ a lot better than ‘crumbcake,’ that’s for sure!”

Phineas’s eyes lit up at the latter nickname, and Isabella groaned as she realized what she’d done.

“....why did I say that...” she grumbled. “We’d moved past the crumbcake thing, why did I say that???”

“I think it’s because you secretly like that nickname and wanted to remind me of it...crumbcake,” Phineas replied with a playful nudge to her side.

“WELL….maybe you’re not completely wrong there…” Isabella admitted, resting her head on his shoulder with an over-dramatic sigh. “I guess it’s kinda cute.”

(She had to admit it was sweet that Phineas was fond of a silly nickname she’d come up with so many years ago. Perhaps it was a little embarrassing, but in a nostalgic, sweet way. And she knew Phineas wasn’t teasing her maliciously...it was all in good fun. And he genuinely thought her childhood antics were endearing!)

“I knew it!” Phineas exclaimed. “You like when I call you ‘crumbcake’!!”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t let it get to your head,” Isabella replied, leaning back and reaching up to ruffle his bright red hair with a chuckle.

“Too late, it’s already up there!” Phineas gestured to his head matter of factly.

“Well! I guess I’ll just have to stand here until your brain short circuits and it leaves your head, then! Because, in your own words, your brain short circuits if you look at me for too long because I’m just soooooo beautiful.”

“True as that may be, if you really want to short circuit my brain, I think a kiss or two from you would do the trick faster.”

Phineas said this without thinking about it.

And subsequently flushed beet red once his brain caught up to his tongue.

…perhaps his lack of a filter would be enough to short circuit his brain.

Isabella, fortunately, didn’t seem phased at all by his suggestion. “Hmmm….” she murmured, tapping her chin thoughtfully and scooting closer to him. “In that case, I guess I’ll have to kiss you. It’s the only logical conclusion.”

“Uhhh…yup! It’s only logical!” Phineas agreed, trying his best to play nonchalant as Isabella wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a knowing smile (and failing pretty miserably at nonchalance because HE STILL COULDN’T BELIEVE SHE WANTED TO KISS HIM, HOW COULD HE PRETEND TO BE PLAYFULLY NONCHALANT WHEN ALL OF THIS WAS SO MONUMENTAL???).

Isabella burst into laughter at his thinly veiled enthusiasm.

Because this moment—this entire evening—was full of moments she’d always dreamed of but that had seemed like just that: dreams!

PHINEAS FLYNN was asking her for kisses, and he was smiling at her as if sharing a brief romantic moment together in the middle of his kitchen was as exciting and enticing an idea as, say, building a super-computer in his backyard.

It was so incomprehensible, so utterly opposite from the oblivious-to-a-fault Phineas she’d grown up with, that she couldn’t HELP but laugh.

Phineas laughed with her, though he didn’t quite understand what was so funny.

(Her joy and close proximity were more than enough to give him butterflies, though, so he didn’t mind.)

“Sorry, sorry!!” Isabella managed to breathe between giggles. “It’s just!!! If I could tell my younger self that you’d actually be asking me to kiss you someday, I think her head would explode.”

“I get that!!” Phineas replied. “If I could go back in time to last night and tell my slightly-younger self that I’d be asking you to kiss me this time tomorrow, I think his head would explode.”

He chuckled before getting a far off look in his eyes.

“Huh....I COULD do that…” he mused thoughtfully. “Go back in time. Talk to my past self about all this. It would certainly alleviate a lot of the anxiety I experienced before I confessed to you.”

“But you shouldn’t do that,” Isabella replied quickly. “Because it could change this timeline or zap us out of existence. I’d rather not be zapped out of existence. Especially not right now. And, besides...getting to confess to one another was worth all it took to get there, right?”

“You’re right…getting to learn about your feelings from YOU was the best!” Phineas assured her.

(This was one of the reasons he needed Isabella, to keep some of his more extreme ideas in check.)

“And I’d hate to zap out of existence. But….”

He blushed a little, suddenly feeling a bit bashful as he recalled why Isabella’d begun laughing in the first place.

“…..I’d still like a kiss from you, if that’s alright.”

“Just one?” Isabella teased.

(She hadn’t forgotten why she’d begun laughing in the first place either.)

Phineas blushed more than a little.

How could Isabella be so coy and collected about all this??

(And why was he even so flustered right now? They’d kissed a handful of times at this point, so there was no legitimate reason to get flustered….but Phineas was flustered anyway. Maybe because he’d never outright asked Isabella for a kiss before? And the mere fact that he could do that at all was a tad overwhelming?? And every few minutes he had to keep reminding himself that all this was really happening because he was still getting the hang of this whole relationship thing and despite everything it still felt too good to be true??? …who knew.)

“Well, more than one would be just fine! But—but at least one!! If that’s okay.”

VERY smooth, Romeo. Fantastic job. A+ flirting technique.

“It’s definitely okay,” Isabella whispered with a smile, tenderly cupping his face in her hands and drawing him close. “Though I appreciate you asking.”

Not much took Phineas’s breath away. He’d spent his life making the impossible possible, after all!

…but Isabella’s kisses did the trick.

And they weren’t just kisses, anyhow. They were promises, assurances, declarations of love he could feel, warm grins and soft caresses and genuine affection courtesy of his best friend (and girlfriend, now).

….frankly, he noted as said-girlfriend gingerly pulled away and coaxed his eyes open with a lilting giggle, it was a miracle he still remembered how to breathe at all.

She was smiling at him, the same smile he’d felt nestled against his and heard in her bubbles of laughter only moments ago.

He’d never realized how versatile smiles could be before today.

“Hey…guess who has hearts in their eyes now?” Isabella crooned, gently stroking his cheek with her thumb.

Phineas blinked, taking a bit longer than normal to come up with a suitable answer.

(He wasn’t used to thinking on his feet in situations like this. He wasn’t used to situations like this at all.)

Isabella’s pupils appeared to be heart-free. So she must have been referring to….

“….me?”

“Yup!” Isabella grinned and gave his nose a playful “boop!” “It’s like they always say: couples who break the laws of physics together stick together.”

She brushed a final kiss to the corner of his mouth before pulling away from him entirely and turning towards the counter.

Phineas trailed behind her as she cut a slice of crumb cake (presumably for the two of them to share, as it was quite large) and slid it onto a plate, still a little dazed.

He was also interested in discovering a scientific explanation for the heart-eyes phenomenon he and Isabella had both experienced in the past half-hour…but he’d save solving that mystery for another day.

“…..how are you so good at this?” he managed to ask.

“At what? Cutting crumb cake?”

“No, I mean…” He rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish chuckle. “…the flirting, the banter, basic relationship stuff.”

(Because Isabella WAS good at basic relationship stuff. All of it was seemingly effortless for her, especially considering she’d never even been in a relationship. Phineas supposed he himself wasn’t COMPLETELY hopeless when it came to flirting—his comment about Isabella’s kisses earlier was proof of that—but he’d done that without thinking.)

“I’ve just had more practice!” Isabella replied cheerfully. “Waaaaaay more practice. I flirted with you a LOT when we were kids, you just never noticed.”

(That was probably good, all things considered. Isabella’s attempts at flirting when they were kids had left her with quite a bit of retrospective embarrassment.)

Phineas winced at the reminder of all he’d missed out on, on all the pinpricks of affection that he hadn’t caught and had instead flown far over his head.

“….sorry about that….” he mumbled.

“Hey, wait a minute. We’ve already been over this!” Isabella said sternly.

(She’d just been trying to offer him a logical answer to his question, not make him feel guilty.)

“There’s absolutely no reason to be sorry, romantic feelings are never an obligation. And besides!!”

She took a step closer to him…then another step…then another…until she was near enough to turn Phineas’s stomach to Doonkelberry jelly because was she planning on kissing him again???

But she didn’t kiss him again, instead just smirking and whispering, “…you’re very cute when you’re flustered…” before leaning back with a bright laugh.

For a few moments, Phineas was struck with the desperate need to HIDE and ESCAPE before Isabella noticed how red his face was.

…but then he remembered that she was, in fact, his girlfriend (a minute ago they’d been smooching, after all) and that his undying love for her wasn’t a secret anymore.

And, since he apparently looked cute when he was flustered, she was likely enjoying this immensely.

Whew.

“Well, I mean, you’re ALWAYS cute, don’t get me wrong,” Isabella continued. She grabbed the crumb cake-laden plate and two forks. “But when you’re flustered you’re ESPECIALLY cute.”

“Oh yeah?” Phineas countered. “Well…uh….you’re always especially cute!!! So there!!”

Isabella slowed to a halt and tilted her head at him with a chuckle. “Wait….are you trying to one-up my flirting? Or…are you trying to fluster me?”

“…..mmmaybe?” Phineas replied hesitantly. “…why, is it working???”

Isabella considered his question, taking note of the cheerful warmth spinning in her chest (and likely reddening her face a bit).

“…maybe just a little.”

Phineas didn’t attempt to hide his excitement this time, pumping his fist in the air with a whispered, “YES!!!!”

He quickly regained his composure, though.

“Well it’s GOOD that it’s working, because if it wasn’t working, I’d have to remind you that your cuteness is a scientific fact.”

“BELIEVE me, I don’t think I’ll ever forget about that,” Isabella replied with a snicker. “That was the closest you ever got to calling me cute when we were kids.”

“Hey! The mere fact that I acknowledged your cuteness at all when we were kids is a testament to just how cute you are,” Phineas stated matter-of-factly. “Because, well…you might not have noticed this, but I was just a tad oblivious to romance when we were that age.”

Isabella feigned a gasp. “WHAT???? No way, I had no idea.”

“It’s true!!!!” Phineas insisted. “….just like your cuteness being a scientific fact is true.”

The two of them burst into giggles at that.

“You know…” Isabella pointed out with a wry smile, “…for someone who claims to be bad at flirting, that was some pretty good flirting.”

(She was quite impressed, actually!)

“Well, I’ve got someone incredibly special to flirt with,” Phineas replied cheekily. “I couldn’t have done it without her.”

Isabella’s eyes widened at that, cheeks flushing bright red (because PHINEAS WAS TALKING ABOUT HER!!!!! HE THOUGHT SHE WAS INCREDIBLY SPECIAL!!!!!), and Phineas grinned eagerly before placing a hand on her shoulder and leaning in to kiss her.

That seemed like the right course of action here, to follow up a jovial round of flirting with a kiss.

(And it was the right course of action, judging from the way Isabella smiled and kissed him back.)

Perhaps he was getting the hang of this whole relationship thing after all.

…

Isabella took a moment to catch her breath as Phineas gently pulled away from her and gave her the world’s most adorable smile (and to overcome the temptation to just forget about the crumb cake and indulge in more kisses instead).

“…alright,” she exhaled. “…as lovely and sweet as all this flirting has been, are you ready to go outside?”

“Oh, definitely!!!!” Phineas replied, taking a step back. “I mean, it feels like it’s been ages since we made this crumb cake, it’s about time we actually eat it. You go on outside, I’ll clean up a bit! Just in case Ferb and my parents get back while we’re out there.”

“Sounds good!!”

Phineas made his way to the living room a few minutes later….only to find Isabella standing in front of the screen door, a blank expression on her face.

“Hey, everything okay?” he asked as he walked over to her. “I thought you were going to go outside.”

“Well…I was,” Isabella articulated slowly. “But….”

Her voice trailed off, and Phineas followed her gaze into the backyard as he finally came to a stop at her side.

“…..oh.”

The backyard was empty.

No stars.

No lanterns.

No light.

Even the picnic basket was gone.

All that remained was their blanket, still laid out beneath the tree, the only remnant of the last hour.

“Well.” Isabella cleared her throat. “I suppose we should’ve seen this coming, huh?”

Phineas didn’t respond, instead sliding the screen door open and stepping past Isabella and into the yard.

He just focused on walking, step by step by step. It was easy to keep his mind occupied with the mechanics of movement...that is, until he knelt beside the tree to collect the blanket.

Because tonight he’d had a second chance at a longer picnic with Isabella, which he’d initially chosen not to pursue when they were kids due to worries he hadn’t been able to explain back then...but the universe had taken that second chance away.

And now he had nothing tangible to express his affections to Isabella with. No inventions, no cozy sanctuaries for the two of them to snuggle up in, no physical manifestations of how much he loved her.

All he had was a blanket. Which hadn’t been enough to prolong their picnic when they were kids. And it hadn’t been enough now.

Their first moments as a couple were gone forever. He couldn’t get them back.

And this wasn’t the first time he’d built something for Isabella, only for it to disappear.

...why did it hurt even more now?

Was this going to be a normal occurrence for them? Phineas creating things, only for the world to irreverently take them away with no explanation as to why?

Because it was one thing to muse that kisses were as meaningful as big ideas while sharing a kiss with Isabella amidst one of said big ideas.

It was quite another to face Isabella without a big idea to prove the authenticity of his feelings.

And perhaps he could build something else right now, but….what would be the point?

A few tears stung at his eyes, throat burning and chest tight.

How could he build a relationship with Isabella if the world was just going to tear down his attempts to show her how much he cared?

“Gosh…it kinda feels like we’re kids again, huh?”

Phineas flinched as Isabella’s voice drew closer. He hugged the blanket to his chest as he stood, willing himself to not cry because he couldn’t cry, it would be silly to cry, all these thoughts of his were illogical. Isabella didn’t sound upset, and she hadn’t been upset when her birthday party disappeared all those years ago, she was fine, and this WAS a pretty regular occurrence for them in the grand scheme of things, so he needed to be okay. Plus, he KNEW she knew how much he loved her, he didn’t need inventions to tell her that but…..a part of him still hurt just the same.

“I mean, it genuinely takes me back! I feel like your mom’s about to offer us pie. And…..”

Isabella’s voice trailed off as she reached his side.

“Phineas?”

Phineas shut his eyes, but he could hear the rustle of grass as Isabella moved to stand in front of him.

“...Phineas, what’s wrong?”

Now her hands were on his shoulders.

He could’ve tried to pretend that nothing was wrong, to smile and laugh it off.

But...Isabella would probably see right through that.

And he was tired of keeping secrets from her, anyway.

“It’s just…..”

His lip quivered, and he sniffled before finally opening his eyes.

“....it’s gone. I planned everything and set up the picnic for you, so you’d know how much I care about you….but it’s gone…..and I wanted to keep spending time with you out here, at our picnic, because the last time we had a picnic it ended too soon and….I thought this time would be different, that we’d be able to end it on OUR terms and not because of it getting dark or anything. But it’s not. It’s like last time, and all the other times inventions disappeared before we were done with them and, I JUST!!!! I just….I’m sorry, Isabella….. I’m so sorry…..”

“Phineas Flynn. Look at me.”

Isabella took his face in her hands and gazed at him intently.

“You have nothing to apologize for. It’s okay! These things happen! And we still have the memory of our picnic, right? Didn’t you say that memories are your favorite things we made when we were kids?”

Phineas pondered that for a moment.

“.…yes…” he finally whispered.

“This is the same,” Isabella insisted. “We’re building memories! The inventions may come and go, but the memories will stay. And I will stay. Believe me, if disappearing inventions bothered me, I wouldn’t be your best friend.”

She smirked a bit and added, “And I wouldn’t be your girlfriend now, obviously.”

“I know, and you’re right!” Phineas replied quickly. “….but…..I just…..I wanted to show you how much I love you, Isabella. That’s what the picnic was for, really. I mean, I know I TOLD you how much I love you too, but for me, it’s always been easier to say that kind of thing when I’ve got an invention to back my words up….I guess, it’s a little scary to say those things when it’s just me. You’re braver than me in that regard.”

“You HAVE shown me how much you love me, Phineas…” Isabella whispered, caressing his cheek with a gentle grin. “You’ve been showing me since we were kids. And, if it makes you feel any better, I don’t love you because of your inventions and big ideas. I love you because you’re YOU. You’re Phineas Flynn! The kindest, most creative, most caring person I’ve ever met!! Everything that makes you you shines through in all your inventions, they’re an extension of who you are; but they aren’t you, you know? If I had to choose between spending a day using one of your most amazing inventions alone OR spending an invention-free day with you doing something super boring, say, watching paint dry, I’d choose the invention free day every time. I just love spending time with you….”

She trailed one of her hands down his arm till it found one of his, twining their fingers together with a comforting squeeze.

“I’m sorry our picnic disappeared, though. It was important to us, and it’s okay to be sad about it. ...do you want to set up another one? I can make paper lanterns, and I’ve got to have a picnic basket at my house. And there’s plenty of stars in the sky if you don’t have any more to spare.”

Her offer lingered in the air for a handful of seconds, and she herself seemed posed on the tips of her toes, waiting for Phineas’s answer.

“….no…” Phineas finally whispered. “….it’s okay. I know we have homework to do, building another picnic would take too much time. ….and you’re right. Spending time together….that’s what really matters. And you being willing to rebuild our picnic means a lot to me.”

“You know I’d do anything for you,” Isabella replied with a gentle smile. “And we can just sit at the table, it’ll be like…an elevated picnic! With homework! So…an elevated study date picnic!”

She patted his cheek before withdrawing her hand from his face and turning towards the door.

But Phineas wasn’t ready to go inside just yet, wasn’t ready to put aside all the emotions tumbling around inside of him.

“Wait!”

Isabella whirled back around, head tilted ever so slightly.

“Yes, Phineas?”

Phineas took a deep breath.

How could he even express how he was feeling? How could he express his gratitude towards Isabella, express how loved and cherished she made him feel, express just how much her willingness to recreate their picnic meant to him?

“I…I just…...thank you, Isabella. So much.”

To punctuate his gratitude, he lifted the hand he held and pressed a tender kiss to Isabella’s knuckle.

“I’m really, just, so lucky. Lucky to be your friend, lucky to be your boyfriend…you know that, right?”

Butterflies whirled in Isabella’s stomach, stirred by the sincerity in Phineas’s voice and the warmth of his lips still lingering on her hand and the way he was looking at her.

She eased in closer, close enough to lay a reassuring hand on Phineas’s shoulder.

“…..we’re both lucky. Incredibly lucky.”

Phineas and Isabella weren’t sure who kissed who first. Perhaps neither of them kissed first, perhaps it was simultaneous, both of them knowing instinctively what the other wanted.

This kiss was different from their first, which had been a rush of new, giddy emotions, a celebration of their reciprocated feelings, the resolution to a lifetime (or, more specifically, nine chapters) of longing.

And it was different from the playful, giggly kisses they’d given one another inside.

It was slow, purposeful, intentional. A way to say thank you, for Phineas to convey to Isabella just how much he cherished her, and for Isabella to do the same for Phineas.

It wasn’t a happy kiss, necessarily. But it wasn’t sad either. They stood nestled within the complicated space between those emotions, mourning the loss of their picnic and summers gone by even as they celebrated them.

And though the ache in Phineas’s chest didn’t disappear completely, even after Isabella murmured a reassuring, “I love you...” against his mouth as she kissed him, it faded a little with every instant he spent close to her, memorizing the way her words felt and made him feel.

“I love you too.”

He loved her, he loved her, he loved her.

Ardently, incredibly, deeply so.

Perhaps someday, he’d find a way to express that love flawlessly, with an invention or words so breathtaking and perfect, he’d eliminate the ache, the feeling of misunderstanding, the disconnect between his affection and his ability to convey it, forever.

But for now. Beneath the stars…in this quiet, plain, utterly ordinary backyard…..Isabella seemed to understand well enough.

For now, just Phineas was enough for her.

And, though he hadn’t grasped it just yet (and perhaps wouldn’t fully grasp it for quite some time), just Phineas would always be enough for her.

…

Ferb spent the ride home from regionally-renowned restaurant The Boiling Pot trying not to laugh as his parents discussed how the complimentary breadsticks had tasted good but not great and how it sure was a shame that Phineas and Isabella hadn’t tagged along with them because they would’ve loved the fireworks! And where had those fireworks even come from, anyway? What did “Gitchee Gitchee Goo” mean?

Ferb, of course, knew Isabella and Phineas were likely getting along just fine on their own.

He also knew precisely where the fireworks had come from. And what they meant. (He was a founding member of Phineas and the Ferbtones, after all.)

But he wasn’t about to spill the beans to his parents: Isabella and Phineas would have that honor.

“Have you heard from Phineas at all?” Linda asked.

Ferb glanced down at his phone and cracked a smile while scrolling through the messages he’d sent to Phineas over the past hour.

Phineas hadn’t responded to any of them, which wouldn’t have been a surprise even if Ferb hadn’t known he was spending time with Isabella. His brother wasn’t the greatest at replying to messages that didn’t need replies, especially when he was attending to other matters.

“I have not. I’m sure he’s fine, though.”

Ferb had done his best to stall at the restaurant, to be quite indecisive about his order and insist on buying dessert and give Phineas and Isabella as much time alone together as possible to figure out their feelings (because it was Phineas and Isabella: they needed all the time they could get), but one could only prolong the inevitable for so long.

Thankfully, the inevitable was about to happen.

(Well. Technically the inevitable had likely already happened, considering the fireworks. But Ferb couldn’t be absolutely sure until he got home because, again: it was Phineas and Isabella.)

“I wonder what Phineas and Isabella have been up to…” Laurence mused as he pulled in the driveway.

Ferb stifled a snicker in his elbow.

“Probably smooching,” he thought. “Or having heartfelt conversations about their feelings. Or just being sappy and sweet. Actually, it’s likely a combination of the three.”

He sent a quick text reading, “We’re home!” to Phineas before climbing out the car and heading for the door.

(Just in case they were partaking in the first of his proposed activities.)

Fortunately, Phineas and Isabella were not, in fact, partaking in the first of his proposed activities.

…but Ferb was more than a little perplexed by what they were up to instead.

He found Isabella and Phineas huddled over a textbook, graph paper, and calculators at the kitchen table, with an empty plate and two forks strewn off to the side.

Ferb’s eyebrows furrowed at the sight, confusion and apprehension prickling at his gut….because all of this seemed suspiciously platonic.

Sure, his brother and neighbor were seated QUITE close to one another. And the single plate and two forks seemed to indicate they’d shared food.

Both of those activities could be interpreted as romantic.

But they could also be interpreted as totally platonic (or, well, “totally platonic” in Phineas and Isabella’s case).

And Ferb also couldn’t be sure Isabella had seen the fireworks. Maybe they’d gone off too soon. Or too late. Maybe she’d been inside while they went off. Or asleep. Anything was possible in Danville.

Thus, Ferb couldn’t be absolutely, assuredly sure Phineas and Isabella were officially together until they told him. Or he asked them.

But he knew he shouldn’t just ask them, because if they hadn’t figured things out yet, asking them would just ruin the surprise and the four years he’d spent in silence about their mutual feelings would be for naught and HE WAS INCREDIBLY TIRED OF ALL THESE SECRETS—

“Woah! Hey, Ferb!!! I didn’t even hear you walk in the door!! How was the restaurant? .…and….how long have you been standing there?”

Phineas’s words rang hollow in Ferb’s head. He only barely comprehended his brother’s final sentence.

“….long enough to wonder whether you two have finally figured things out….” he muttered.

“OH! We sure did!!!” Phineas replied eagerly.

He gestured to a particularly complex-looking equation and continued, “This problem right here stumped us for awhile, but Isabella finally figured out we have to use the general Leibniz rule to solve it!!!! Honestly I can’t believe I didn’t think of that sooner, though I guess my brain has been a little preoccupied tonight…”

Ferb was going to fall over. He was going to fall over and then stand back up and grab a pillow and wack Phineas over the head with it because HE’D HAD AN ENTIRE ROMANTIC PICNIC AND FIREWORKS AND CONFESSION PLAN AT HIS DISPOSAL, HOW COULD HE BE TALKING ABOUT CALCULUS RIGHT NOW???? HOW HAD HE AND ISABELLA NOT FIGURED THINGS OUT YET??????

Isabella, meanwhile, glanced between Ferb (who looked about ready to snap something in half) and Phineas (who seemed blissfully unaware of that) before giggling. She placed a hand on Phineas’s shoulder and patted it gently, prompting him to look back at her.

“Phineas, sweetheart,” she voiced matter-of-factly, “I think Ferb is trying to ask if we started dating.”

She turned to Ferb and brightly added, “We DID start dating, by the way!!!!”

“Oh!!! Right!!”

(Phineas felt a little silly for not grasping that on his own, but it was alright.)

“Yeah, we started dating!!! Surprise!!”

And just like that. Relief. A mountain’s worth of pressure, over a DECADE’S worth of pressure, lifted from Ferb’s shoulders.

He sank into a chair opposite the happy couple and exhaled.

“….oh thank the stars.”

…

At last….Ferb can rest 😌.

ALSO MASSIVE SHOUT OUT TO MY BETA FOR COMING UP WITH “THE BOILING POT”!!!! I wanted to make a pun based off “The Boiling Isles” for the restaurant name (any Owl House fans here? 👀), and she came up with that and a couple other options and I LOVE HER THANK YOU FRIEND.

I sincerely hope you all enjoyed this chapter!! (And I sincerely hope the next update doesn’t take so long😅. But no promises, lol!) The end of the story is in sight…might take a couple more chapters to get there, but WE WILL GET THERE👏

As always, comments/reblogs/tags/likes are very much appreciated 😊💕

EDIT: OH ALSO!!!!! I owe a massive shout-out to @palizinhas. They write FANTASTIC Phinbella fic, and their story “Another Plan” inspired me to add the hurt/comfort scene into this chapter (I’d previously written it and decided to cut it).

#chfil #phinabella #phinbella #phineas and ferb #cadence writes #ferb? i know what we’re gonna queue today!

27 notes · View notes

authenticcadence18art · 3 years

Text

Ice Cream and Dances Pt. 2: Electric Boogaloo

Summary:

In an unprecedented turn of events, Isabella finds herself at the annual Night of the Falling Stars Dance with Phineas—JUST Phineas—after he shows up to her house with a tub of ice cream and asks her to go with him.

But it’s not a date! Phineas definitely, totally, 100% invited her as a friend. Nothing will convince Isabella otherwise.

....nothing, that is, except perhaps a conversation with (and subsequent dare from) another bully-turned-friend of hers.

...

This is a continuation of FrsdGirl’s Ice Cream and Dances! PLS go read it before reading this fic!!!!

...

Isabella had what one might call a “love-hate relationship” with Danville’s annual Night of the Falling Stars Girls’ Choice dance.

(Well, it wasn’t really a “Girls’ Choice” dance anymore. The city council dropped that caveat from the title years ago. Now, attendees were encouraged to invite anyone they pleased to the dance, though its former name stuck sometimes.)

On one hand, she loved going every year and sharing at least one dance with Phineas, indulging in sweet butterflies and smiles for a few precious minutes as they stood together and swayed to the rhythm before being jolted back to reality when the music ended and she couldn’t think of a good excuse to stay in his arms without admitting her feelings for him.

But...on the other hand….thinking about the dance reminded her that she’d never actually gotten to attend it with Phineas. Like, yes she always literally went with him….but Ferb always went with them too. They all went together. As friends. Always as friends. Just friends.

This year was no exception, even if it was a bit more exceptional than usual.

As Isabella walked at Phineas’s side in the twilight, she kept reminding herself of that in an attempt to slow her racing heart.

“Isabella. This is a friend thing. Which is fine. Just don’t get your hopes up.”

And yet....it was hard for Isabella to not get her hopes up.

Because she couldn’t forget Phineas showing up at her door with a gallon of ice cream and a sweet note, couldn’t forget him asking her to go to the dance with him (even if it was in a platonic way), couldn’t forget holding his hands and daring to sit fairly close to him for a while before they finally left her house…...

He’d actually asked her to the dance. Just her. That had never happened before.

...but he’d also asked when she wanted to walk over with him and Ferb earlier. And Ferb had removed himself from the situation (for her benefit, no doubt). Phineas had nothing to do with his absence.

So this was still assuredly a friend thing. Isabella had to remember that.

She dared a glance at Phineas. He was staring down at the sidewalk with his eyebrows furrowed, seemingly lost in thought.

He was probably brainstorming a new invention, or perhaps thinking of ways to improve the StarGazer3000.

Isabella couldn’t help but smile at that thought...because that was definitely the Phineas Flynn she’d fallen in love with.

...

Isabella squirmed at the sensation of everyone’s eyes glued on she and Phineas as they crossed beneath the banner announcing the “13th Annual Night of the Falling Stars Dance.” They were a bit late, since they’d spent a good bit of time just sitting together before finally heading off, so their entrance garnered a lot of attention.

Everyone would’ve stared at them regardless, of course, since Isabella’s crush on Phineas (that she swore up and down was a thing of the past, though she knew deep down it wasn’t) was more or less common knowledge among the rest of their friends at this point.

But she pretended they weren’t staring because there was nothing to stare at. She and Phineas were here as friends, plain and simple.

If anyone asked, that’s what she’d say.

...

So far, the night was proceeding as it usually did.

Phineas took a few minutes to examine the Stargazer 3000 and chat with Ferb about how things were going so far, which was normal. Isabella used this time to say hello to Ferb before wandering off to catch up with a few friends (and vehemently insisting she was NOT here with Phineas on a date when they asked).

(If she’d glanced back at Phineas, she might have noticed him vehemently insisting something similar to Ferb.)

Phineas approached her as the music died down and stars began streaking across the sky, leaving trails of light in their wake. After admiring the display for a moment, the two of them closed their eyes to make wishes, as was customary.

(Thankfully, they hadn’t missed this portion of the event.)

Isabella made two wishes each year. (Which might have technically been against the rules, but who was going to know?)

Her first wish always changed. Last year, for example, she’d wished for her soccer team to win an upcoming game, and the year before that, she’d wished for Nosh Ole’s grand opening to go smoothly.

These wishes only ever had one thing in common: they never had anything to do with Phineas.

That’s what her second wish was always reserved for.

After silently hoping that Ms. Lilith would go easy on her and her classmates on next week’s Chemistry midterm, Isabella took a deep breath and wordlessly made her second wish.

“I wish Phineas and I were here as more than friends.”

She knew wishing wouldn’t make said wish any more likely to come true.

But it felt good to wish anyway.

If only she knew how similar Phineas’s wish was to hers....

Isabella opened her eyes and glanced at Phineas as the music started back up....only to find him gazing right at her, eyes soft and lips curved upward in a gentle smile.

A whirl of butterflies tumbled through her stomach, cheeks flushing bright pink.

How long had Phineas been looking at her like that?

...did Phineas often look at her like that when she wasn’t looking at him?

“UH!!!”

Phineas blinked and took a quick step back, startling the question out of Isabella’s mind (though the butterflies were not so easily chased away).

“Uh! I was just wondering, uh...do, uh, do you want to dance now?”

He held a hand out towards her before snapping it back and rubbing his ear.

“Uh, well, we don’t HAVE to dance together, it’s just—we usually do, I guess it’s kind of a tradition at this point, so uh, I thought I’d go ahead and ask…..but there’s no EXPECTATION for you to dance with me or anything, um….we can do whatever you want to do.”

“Phineas.” Isabella chuckled and grinned at him. “Of course I want to dance. I mean. It...it’s tradition, after all! Right?”

Phineas just glanced at her for a moment, eyes wide…..and then he grinned, the same bright, enthusiastic, eager grin Isabella had been pining for since grade school.

(Even if this was just a friend thing, she could appreciate his enthusiasm.)

“Right!” Phineas agreed. “Tradition!!”

And so Isabella and Phineas made their way to the dance floor, found a vacant spot amidst the actual couples, held one another at arm’s length, and commenced swaying platonically.

(It was TOTALLY platonic. 100%.)

...

“Heyyy, Dinnerbell! Mind if I cut in?”

Isabella flinched at the verbal intrusion of her time with Phineas.

They’d been “swaying platonically” and making small talk for a couple of songs now.

It was fun—spending time with Phineas was almost always fun—but also a little awkward. Because Isabella couldn’t forget the way he’d looked at her a bit ago, couldn’t forget her wish….

She glanced over Phineas’s shoulder and made eye contact with the interrupting party.

Said interrupting party, one Buford Van Stomm, waved in response and cracked a grin that resided somewhere between amused and encouraging.

Phineas glanced between the two of them, took a deep breath, and stuttered, “Uhhh of course I don’t mind! I mean, um, it’s up to Isabella anyway.”

He stepped away from her, snapping his arms against his sides.

“Do, uh, do you want to dance with Buford, Isabella? Because I was thinking of grabbing a snack anyway, so, uh…”

That was a great question.

It didn’t take long for Isabella to think of an answer.

“....sure!” she replied. “Why not?”

“Alright then, have fun!”

Phineas gave she and Buford an awkward wave before hurrying over to the snack table.

And, strangely, Isabella was almost relieved to see him go.

“Well then. Shall we dance, girlie?” Buford asked with a grin.

Isabella rolled her eyes and smirked as she placed her hands on his shoulders. “We shall.”

...

Dancing with Phineas was like dancing on eggshells. It was a breath of frigid air in the middle of winter, or the warmth of a scarf around her neck, warmth that could evaporate at any moment in a rogue gust of wind. It didn’t matter if the music they were dancing to was loud or soft, didn’t matter if they were giggling as they bounced in time to an upbeat tune or holding one another and gently rocking back and forth to a slow one: she’d always get butterflies in her stomach when they danced together. Just being near Phineas was exhilarating and terrifying and lovely and exhausting all at once.

Dancing with Buford, on the other hand, was comfortable, friendly, like a warm summer breeze. There were no questions in her heart, no longing facial expressions to mask, no worries about what he’d think of her if she accidentally stepped on his feet (because he seemed to have made a habit of purposefully stepping on her feet), no butterflies. Dancing with Buford wasn’t even really dancing, to be frank. They mostly just stood in place, tapped their feet to the music, and talked.

Though she already missed holding Phineas in relatively close proximity and feeling the warmth of his shoulders under her fingertips, it was nice to have a break from the butterflies and eggshells.

“Sorry if I interrupted anything ‘romancy’,” Buford said with a shrug. “I just couldn’t help noticing that you and Dinnerbell looked a little….awkward. Thought you guys might need a break. Plus, we haven’t hung out in awhile!”

“Heh, awkward is right……” Isabella managed a dry laugh. “You didn’t interrupt anything, not really. And I DID need a break, thanks for noticing! I was about to fall over, I was getting so jittery.”

“Happy to help!!” Buford replied with a grin. “Sooooo….what’s up between you guys, anyway?”

He gestured in the general vicinity of the snack table, where Phineas was hunched over his phone, thumbs flying across the screen, and continued, “I saw you walk into the dance together….are you here, like, you know…. together together??”

Isabella let out a sigh. “No, we’re just here as friends,” she replied quietly. “I mean, I’m happy to be here with Phineas at all, don’t get me wrong! But when he asked me to go with him, I knew he meant it as a friend thing…..”

Buford stumbled a little and gaped at her.

“Waaaait wait wait he actually asked you to the dance? Just you??”

“Well, yeah, he did. But as friends.”

“How do you know he meant as friends?”

“Because I asked him if we were going as friends. To clarify. I had to be sure. And he said yes. Hence, this is a friend thing.”

Buford stared blankly at her for a moment before shutting his eyes and grumbling something unintelligible under his breath. Isabella managed to make out the words “typical” and “so oblivious.”

“.....you know what I think?” he finally whispered.

“What?”

“You should test the waters.”

Isabella narrowed her eyes at him. “...meaning?”

“Get over there and see if this is really a friend thing or not.”

“ Huh?? ” Isabella jerked her arms back and frantically shook her head. “No way. I already know this is a friend thing.”

What was Buford thinking??

At this point, all pretenses of dancing together were apparently out the window. Buford crossed his arms and eyed her incredulously.

“Look. Let’s say you’d asked Phineas to this dance as more than a friend and he asked if you were going as friends,” he mused. “What would you have said in response?”

“Well obviously I would have said we were going as friends, it would’ve been awkward if I didn’t!” Isabella replied frantically. “I wouldn’t want him to figure out I have a crush on him if it seemed like he didn’t feel the same way!”

“So, maybe Phineas did the same thing!” Buford reasoned. “He meant to ask you as more than a friend but panicked and backtracked on that when you asked about it.”

“Nope, there’s no way that’s true.”

Isabella couldn’t entertain that possibility, as lovely as it was.

It would be DANGEROUS to entertain that possibility, to give in to hope.

“Buford...you know Phineas doesn’t like me like that…..” she whispered.

(It took all of Buford’s willpower to keep from revealing he knew Phineas in fact DID like her like that.)

“Well, whether Phineas wanted to ask you to this dance as more than a friend or not, I still say you should see what it would be like to be here with him as more than a friend.”

Buford gestured to the setup around them and continued, “What better place is there to dance between friendship and more-than-friendship than a literal dance??”

Isabella squirmed a little.

“.....you have a good point there.”

“Look.” Buford nodded towards the snack table. “Just go up to Phineas and, I don’t know, ask him something like, ‘What if we were here as more than friends?’ and see how he reacts.”

“WHAT??” Isabella shook her head vehemently. “I can’t do that!!!”

“Yes you can!!!” Buford assured her. “You’re Isabella Garcia-Shapiro! Mountain-mover! Wielder of ominous patch-related threats!! You can do anything!!!”

“Well, you got that right!” Isabella replied, a hint of pride in her voice. “But...but this is different from moving a mountain. I just...I don’t know….”

“Hey…” Buford placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and gave her an encouraging smile. “If he reacts badly, just tell him I dared you to ask about it. Put the blame on me.”

(He knew Phineas wouldn’t react badly, of course. But he also knew he’d never be able to convince Isabella of that.)

“....wait…..”

A competitive spark prickled in Isabella’s gut, momentarily chasing any jitters away.

“...ARE you daring me to ask him?” she whispered

“....you know, now that you mention it...yes, yes I am.”

Buford took a step back and pointed at her with a grin. “I dare ya to ask him. I DOUBLE-dog dare ya to ask him.”

Isabella spent a long moment just looking at Phineas (who was far too engrossed in his text conversation to notice).

She wasn’t one to turn down a double-dog dare.

And...even without the dare…..she had to admit Buford’s plan was pretty foolproof.

She really wanted to be here with Phineas as more than friends, and now she had the opportunity to make that desire a reality. (AND the opportunity to back away from it if her question backfired.)

“....I guess I’m going to ask him, then.”

...

“Hi, Phineas…sorry about that.”

“Huh??” Phineas jumped and hastily shoved his phone into his pocket. “Oh! Isabella, there’s nothing to be sorry about. Buford’s our friend, just like we’re friends! You don’t have to apologize for spending time with another friend.”

“Well, yeah, but….” Isabella took a deep breath and inched a little closer. “....I came here with you… I want to spend time with you, especially you.”

She inched even closer.

“And, uh...speaking of being friends and spending time together, uh…..I was just wondering, uhm….what if we WEREN’T here as friends?”

There. She was off to a good start.

Phineas’s eyebrows shot up.

“What? You don’t want to be here together?? I...I mean, it’s alright if you’d rather part ways, hang out with other people—“

….okay, maybe she wasn’t off to a good start.

“No, Phineas, that’s not what I meant!!” Isabella elaborated quickly. “I’m having tons of fun with you, promise! What I mean is...uh…..”

Her face was practically on fire at this point, but she forced herself to finish her sentence.

“.....what if we were here together as, like…. more than friends?”

Phineas’s face flushed bright red, eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

“....more than friends?” he squeaked.

Isabella clenched her eyes shut and winced, wishing she could go back in time to a minute ago and ask Phineas about what snacks he’d sampled instead of proposing a change to their entire relationship dynamic out of the blue.

Because now he was embarrassed and SHE was more than embarrassed and she’d made everything awkward and she really needed to fix things before they got worse.

“I—I’m not saying we’re here as more than friends!!” she stammered. “I’m just, uh, thinking hypothetically here. I’ve never been to a dance with a...more than a friend…. I was just wondering what it would be like. If this weren’t a friend thing. That’s all.”

“Oh…”

Phineas blinked. He was still blushing, still looked quite flustered, which only made Isabella feel worse.

He was probably trying to think of the easiest way to excuse himself from this situation without hurting her feelings.

So, Isabella opened her mouth to salvage the night by recontextualizing her proposition as a dare from Buford.

But before she could get a word out….Phineas spoke. Quietly. (Which was a little unusual for him.)

“Well….if this wasn’t a friend thing, uh….I guess I’d want to hold your hand.”

It took Isabella a second to process what he’d said.

“.....you would?” she managed to whisper.

Phineas rubbed the back of his neck. “....yup…”

“Oh.”

“But! Uh!!! This is a friend thing, so! We don’t have to hold hands—“

“NO!!!!!!!” Isabella shot back.

She winced.

”Don’t mess this up, Garcia-Shapiro.”

“...I mean, uh! If this weren’t a friend thing, I’d want to hold hands too. So. We can hold hands. If you want.”

“....okay.”

Slowly, ever so slowly, Isabella reached out and grasped Phineas’s hand in her own before tentatively glancing up at him.

Phineas, meanwhile, stared at their entwined fingers for a few moments before finally meeting her gaze with wide eyes.

He looked a little awestruck and more than a little adorable and now he was smiling and ISABELLA NEEDED TO KEEP IT TOGETHER AND STOP WONDERING WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH HIS HEAD AND THINKING ABOUT HOW LOVELY HER HAND FELT HOLDING HIS.

“...this isn’t real….” she reminded herself. “No matter how real it feels, it isn’t real. This is hypothetical. It’s hypothetical. It’s wonderful but it’s just hypothetical nonetheless.”

The music in the air shifted, from upbeat and lively to slow and pensive and….maybe a little romantic?

“You know….if this wasn’t a friend thing….I’d say this was the perfect song to dance to...” Phineas pointed out, still smiling at her.

Isabella blinked. “Uh! And, and I’d agree with that assessment. Totally.”

“...uh, well...do you want to dance, then?”

Isabella took a deep breath.

She DID want to dance with Phineas, of course. But could she? Could she really pretend to pretend to dance with him as more than a friend?

(In other words, could she keep from revealing this “hypothetical more-than-friends” thing wasn’t hypothetical for her at all?)

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Buford flashing her a thumbs up from the dance floor.

Technically, she’d fulfilled the parameters of his dare.

But would she really be “testing the waters” (as he’d put it) if she backed out now?

“...yes...” she whispered, giving Phineas’s hand a squeeze. “Yes I do. Want to dance, that is.”

Because as nervous and uncertain as Isabella was...she was also excited.

And from the way Phineas’s eyes lit up at her reply, it seemed he was excited too.

...

Thanks for reading! I originally intended for this to be a one shot, but then I was like “...you know....I might as well split it up into chapters, why not?”

See you soon for part 2! And THANK YOU AGAIN FRSDGIRL ILY YOU’RE AMAZING!!!!!

#phineas and ferb #phinabella #phinbella #cadence writes #ferb? i know what we’re gonna queue today!

34 notes · View notes