“Can’t Help Falling in Love” Ch. 11
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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).
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Fic Writer Meme
Tagged by my dear @dancinbutterfly, and like, obviously I will take any excuse to talk about writing.
.
1) how many works do you have on ao3?
168, although a few of those are podfics that the podficcer credited me as a co-author on. Actually less than I would’ve expected, tbh.
2) what is your total ao3 word count?
1,431,989. Honestly also kinda less than I would’ve expected at this point. I will blame all those old fics I never brought over from LJ and ff.net for this expectation.
3) how many fandoms have you written for, and what are they?
I literally cannot tell you, the ancient ways have been lost to me. I can give you my Ao3 fandoms, though!
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Overwatch
The Witcher (Netflix)
Young Justice (Cartoon)
Animorphs
Star Wars
Good Omens
Venom
Fantastic Four
Leverage
League of Legends
Daredevil
Supernatural
Care Bears
World of Warcraft
Spider-Man
X-Men
Slender Man Mythos
Additionally, long ago: Naruto, Gundam Wing, Digimon, Ranma ½, Bleach, Inu-Yasha, and many scattered other fandoms of my youth. So, so many others. So I’ve written for 25+ fandoms, at least.
4) what are your top 5 fics by Kudos.
a mark, a mission, a brand, a scar (13004)
I once started out to walk around the world but ended up in Brooklyn (8450)
it’s a long way forward (so trust in me) (6965)
oh don’t you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me (6818)
if the bad times are coming let ‘em come (5362)
5) do you respond to comments?
Not really these days, though I hoard and treasure them like a freaking DRAGON. I used to respond to all of them but sometimes I’m just not around and then it becomes awkwardly late to reply and also they kinda . . . pile up a bit. I do try to answer all the comments with questions in them, at least, as long as the questions aren’t literally spoilers or anything like that.
6) what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?
I don’t usually write super-angsty endings, I think? I don’t FEEL like I usually write super-angsty endings, anyway, at least not these days. I think I did it more often when I was more into, like, drabbles and shortfic. Now I just spend way too long on stuff to give it a downer ending.
The most recent angsty ending I can think of is wanna hold him, maybe I’ll just sing about it, though eventually I did write a sequel to that to soften the blow a bit. And also torment people a bit. Both, technically. Technically both.
7) What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?
blondes really do have more fun, definitely. It’s very . . . giddy, I guess? What with the gender euphoria and all. There’s angst and heavy emotions in the actual plot but the highs of the happy parts/ending are probably the highest/happiest ones I’ve written, and Supergirl gets everything she wants without having to compromise or give up anything else.
8) do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve ever written?
I write fusion fic more than crossovers, really, but I have written a LOT of fusion fic. Some of it has been weirder than others, tbh, but probably the Avatar: The Last Airbender/Animorphs fusion that I have been lovingly slaving over deserves to be this answer if only for how much extremely sincere effort I have put into it over the years.
9) have you ever received hate on a fic?
Mild hate, but occasionally. I don’t really tend to remember negative comments, tbh, though it does sometimes make me not want to reread the comment section I know they’re in. But a lot of the hate I’ve gotten in the end just seemed like socially-awkward people being unnecessarily blunt instead of just hitting the back button, so I try not to take it personally. Can’t please everyone. Don’t WANT to please everyone, frankly.
10) Do you write smut? What kind?
Yes, and the kind is “a lot”. Sometimes I don’t really feel like it but definitely I have done a lot of it. I try for Feelings and also to be safe, sane, and consensual as much as I can.
11) have you ever had a fic stolen?
I . . . am not sure? Though probably, after being at this for all this time. Someone once told me that someone picked up a fic I’d (at the time) abandoned and just started writing/posting more of it without asking or telling me about it, but I never actually found said fic and I don’t know if that technically counts as “stealing” anyway.
12) have you ever had a fic translated?
A few times, yup, it’s pretty gratifying! I also like to run them back through Google Translate and see what they say, haha.
13) have you ever co-written a fic before?
yoooo @dancinbutterfly, @rainnecassidy! Also done it with a few other people long, LONG ago, but that was back in the LJ era. Don’t think I’ve technically collabed with anyone else lately, although sometimes people will give me ideas for stuff I’m writing or offer suggestions when I’m stuck on a thing, which is very helpful.
14) what’s your favourite ship?
Like . . . per fandom? ‘Cuz we could be here a while. Most recently it’s Jaskier/Geralt, for a while it was Aziraphale/Crowley, DEFINITELY for a while it was Steve/Bucky . . .
You know, I guess technically my all-time favorite ship is actually Naruto/Sasuke, because I made a LOT of friends in Naruto fandom and it actually hugely influenced the end of my teenage years and beginning of my adult life and so, SO much of my writing. So like, if nothing else it wins on influentialness.
15) what’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?
Let ‘Em Come. @rainnecassidy and I wrote that AU a long-ass time ago now and I never did my half of the sequel fic because I got too distracted with another longfic I was working on at the time and then took a real long fandom break. I always felt kind of bad about it because people seemed to bother her for said sequel more than they bothered ME for it, since her fic was the last posted part. Unfortunately I just don’t have the spoons or the MCU-focus for the research and effort it’d take anymore. Also, like . . . it’d probably be pretty long, so unless I was REAL obsessive about it it’d take a good long while.
Basically I think its time has just passed at this point, alas.
16) what are your writing strengths?
Sex, action, snark, and weird fusion fics. Also making people love things they usually hate, that’s one I get told a lot.
17) what are your writing weaknesses?
Fitting physical descriptions of . . . literally ANYTHING into the story. Just, anything. Physical descriptions are hard.
18) what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in fic?
I try not to do it, personally, because I know soooooo very little about other languages. Sometimes I’ll sprinkle in a little bit of it, but usually I feel like it’s better to avoid it, personally.
19) what was the first fandom you wrote for?
I literally could not even tell you. The first fandom I REMEMBER writing proper “fic” for was . . . Ranma ½, I think. I thiiiiink. But that was a long-ass time ago and I never even posted it anywhere because those were the days when I despised typing things up beyond all measure, hah. And before that I remember writing Animorphs . . . comics? Storyboards? Something like that. Kind of a cross between the two.
20) what’s your favourite fic you’ve ever written?
I do not know! There’s really just too many, tbh. Some top options are you found me when no one else was looking, best friends means you get what you deserve, clay kids, Avamorphs, handmaiden!Anakin, oh don’t you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me, and . . . and I could go on for a dang MINUTE, honestly, haha, I’m just gonna stop myself here before I get too carried away.
.
I tag whoever happens to be reading this that wants to be tagged; have fun with it!
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Okay so I had an idea for an AFTG fic but again I’m horrible at anything that isn’t hc’s so here we are (feel free to make this into a fic if you want just credit me) *Also all pairing in this are platonic besides andreil and mattdan soo, don’t like get out*
This spawned from that fact that one of my 3 PTP’s (platonic trust pairing) in AFTG is Kev and Neil
This is probably my PTP that has the most popularity in the fandom I’d say (my other 2 are Renee/Andrew/Neil and Neil/Dan which are both *really* hard to find ((at least on ao3)) so that sucks) but you’d be surprised how little it gets like actually focused on
Most times, platonic wise, Neil gets shown bonding with The MonstersTM, Allison, or Matt
wHICH IS FINE IM TOTALLY OKAY W/ THAT
I just happen to enjoy neil/dan, kev/neil,and renee/andrew/neil more
So I wanted a fic that really showcased kev and neils relationship
BUT IM ALSO IN LOVE WITH OUSIDER POV SO THIS HAPPENED
Now onto the actual headcanon
So neil and kevin are like best friends
They've been like that for a while
but they also like fucking despise each other
like they love and care deeply for each other and would probably die for the other if the situation called for it
but will that stop them from almost killing each other 24/7?
HELL NO
so they go to college together
along with all the upperclassmen (so matt+dan+allison+renee+seth) but not the monsters
andrew and neil have been together for a bit
they met around the same time kev and neil did so they've been together for a while (also while we're talking abt relationships, i don't ship renison ((am i the only one who believes that renee is a strong aro gal who don't need no man/lady/person)) but if you wanna make this renison, go ahead)
andrew goes to a different college tho ( for some reason i dunno)
and neil doesn't really like sharing stuff abt his personal life
we all know this
but a lot of the stuff he's done in his life involves andrew
so drew is brought up a fair amount
but when the upperclassmen ask who he is neil kinda just smiles and then moves on so they ask kevin and he's like
oh andrew is like one of my bffls he's a ride or die
(obviously not phrased like that)
and the upperclassmen r like 'ok he can be trusted he's a friend'
(little do they know hehhehhe-)
sO ONE DAY
kev is tryna forget all his issues
so he decides to get hella pissed
wasted like he's never been b4
probably cause thea broke up w/ him last week but we don't talk abt that okay shhhhhhh
so he goes to the next party alli throws and
let's say it together kids
gets wasted like he's never been b4
to the point where the upperclassmen don't really know wht to do with him????
so they call up neil like yo pick up kev he's drunk off his ass like always but we think he's doing it cause he's sad this time'
so neil, being the good and sweet angel (not) that he is
goes to pick up kevin
and like he finds him on a coach almost catatonic just rambling to himself
so neil picks him up and drags him away to his car
and ofc all the upperclassmen r trying to help
so while neil is putting kevin into his car kev randomly just stops talking
(which is weird cause he's kept rambling this entire time)
and he looks neil in the eyes and goes
'i love you neil'
and neil just like takes a second
pAuSeS
because he's not used to people showing him love even tho so many ppl rlly do love him (this boy is2g-)
and then quietly says
'love you too kev'
and finishes buckling him up
all the upperclassmen have been watching this going on the entire time and they read into in the exact wrong way
(they're trying their best, my baby dumbasses, but they're just wrong)
and think this is a romantic love confession between frenimies *instead* of the declaration of mutual respect and affection between 2 bro's that it is
matt is the first one to voice this after kev and neil leave and he is
PUMPED
he is super excited that his bro has found someone to love just like he found dan and is super excited to like talk abt love and go on double dates n stuff
and every one else agrees
which is why they're all super disappointed that by the time a week goes by, nothing has changed between them
so dan matt and allison decide to do something about it (renee+seth ducking out because'it's rude to meddle' and 'why tf would i care abt jostens love bullshit')
they try to set up kevin and neil a bunch of different time s
once with the offer of a study session that they all say they can't make it to, leaving neil and kevin alone
another time with the offer of kevin and neil going to the movies w/ matt and dan
(neil ends up busy w/ a skype date with andrew that he can't pass up cause they're always so busy and he has to see his boyf so kevin just ends up 3rd wheeling matt and dan)
and once with allison straight up just telling neil that he and kevin should get coffee some time
which neil respond to with
'we already get coffee together?'
so dan matt and alli are stumped
they don't know what to do with these 'lovesick' idiots
they're problem gets solved tho don't you worry
so the next weekend, andrew is gonna come over to psu and stay for like a week
neil is oVER THE MOON
HE IS SOO HAPPYYYYY
And kevin is really happy too
so the upperclassmen take this to mean that these boys have finally gotten the hint and asked each other out
so imagine they're suprise when the next time the group goes to get lunch (which they do with each other every wednesday )
a super short blond emo joins them
and no one really acknowledges it?!?!?!?!?!?
until renee is just like 'hello andrew, how are you?' knowing smile on her face
and the upperclassmen are just like 'oh it's the famous andrew, that makes sense' but then they're like 'wait how does renee know andrew?!?!'
they ask and renee is just like 'neil gave me his discord. he thought we'd get along well'
-and then they're just like okayyy renee totally has a crush but well let it slideee
uNTIL
at the end of lunch neil is just like 'oh wait i never properly introduced him-' -cause you're a mess, junkie' -fuck off andrew' then just turns to the upperclassmen and says
'guys this is my boyfriend andrew'
and the foxes just silently freak out
because neil is in love with kevin? it's so clear? why did neil go and get a boyf when he has his love right in front of him??????
so after lunch, matt dan and alli ask to talk to neil privately
(andrew, kev,and renee all talk together while seth like, looks at his phone)
and they're like 'neil why'd you get a boyf??'
and neils like 'wdym?'
and alli says 'why'd you get a boyf if your so obviously in love w/ kevin?!'
and neil just LAUGHS at them
straight up cackles
and then the upperclassmen are like whaaaaattttt????
we saw your declaration of love at the party??
and you're both really close and seem to genuinely like and be interested in each other??
what gives????
and neils like
'me n kev are besties
that was a platonic declaration of love
also
i'm demi and me and drew have been together for like 3 years now'
and the upperclassmen are just like 'ooooooooooooooooohhhhhh sorryyyyyyyyy'
it's the first time alli has ever lost a bet (it was w/ seth abt neils feelings for kevin)
neil tells andrew abt it and the shortie just snorts and is like 'kevin would fuck a racket quicker than he'd fuck you'
neil is like 'i'm basically exy personified tho, soooooo'
drew tells him to shut up
(he does when andrew asks yes or no, just nods his head and smiles)
renee knew all along and is happy for her friends
kevin just wants to play exy he's been deprived the entire post
So yeah that's the entire headcanon. If you want some music to listen to while you write or just in general i recommend "I lost a Friend" by FINNEAS and "Corduroy Dreams" by Rex Orange County. they don't really have anything to do with the story, they're just real good :) Thanks for reading. see y'all later

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