A/N: Hello everyone! Just a quick one shot that was bouncing around my head. Enjoy!"I can't believe it just disappeared again," Candace fumed as she and her brothers entered their house after a long day with their friends.
"Don't worry Candace," Phineas began as they went into the living room. He and Ferb sat on the couch, but Candace stood standing. "Maybe tomorrow-"
"Who cares about tomorrow? You're just gonna make another stupid contraption that'll ruin my day."
"But Candace, that's not-"
"Oh, be quiet Phineas! You just don't get how frustrating you two and your stupid inventions can be," she said, starting to pace.
"Candace-"
"I'm just trying to be a good older sister and still have a good summer, but no, I have to babysit you two and make sure nothing happens, which you two make really difficult! I could be hanging out with Jeremy or Stacy, having a great time, but you keep ruining it!"
And on it went. Phineas let Candace rage, but after a while, it was getting harder and harder not to say something. Now Phineas was normally a very chill guy. It took a lot to get him riled up. You could rag on him and sometimes his friends for a bit and not get any negative response, but after 10 solid minutes of Candace railing on him and Ferb, he had had enough.
"Shut up!" he yelled, standing up. Candace stopped and stared at her brother with wide eyes, mirroring Ferb's expression.
"You just don't get it, do you!? To you they're just stupid inventions made to annoy you, but to Ferb and I, they're special! They're what we look forward to every day and love to do, and heck, everyone else loves them too. Except you!"
"Because I'm the only one in my right mind!" she yelled back. "Those things are dangerous!"
"As if we don't know that! Do you know how much thought we put into making them safe and fun? We aren't stupid!"
"Well you're the stupidest guys I've ever met! And that's saying something. If you would just stop-"
"No! No, we're not gonna stop building things! Who cares what you think? I know what you think. You hate them and you hate us!"
Phineas turned and stormed up the stairs. A door slammed and then everything was deathly silent. Candace turned to Ferb.
"I don't..."
"I know," he replied quietly.
"I should go talk to him..."
"Let him calm down for a bit." He patted the couch cushion next to him and she st down.
"Have you ever seen him like that?" Ferb asked quietly.
"Never. I-I didn't mean for it to go that far." Ferb nodded in understanding.
"I'm sorry us and our inventions are so frustrating," he finally replied.
"No Ferb... I'm the one that's sorry. I can be really uptight sometimes and I shouldn't have taken it out on you two. Forgive me?" Ferb nodded immediately and gave his sister a hug, which she gladly returned.
"Please don't ever fight like that again," he whispered.
"Promise. Think I can go talk to him now?" Ferb nodded.
"Good luck."
Candace quickly climbed the stairs and gently rapped on Phineas' door.
"Go away."
"Phineas, can I please come in?"
"No. I said, go away."
"Phineas, I'm sorry." No response. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I-I just... just want you to..." The door slowly opened and Candace quietly entered. Phineas was sitting on his bed, knees pulled up to his chest, staring off into space.
"What if someone told you they hated your singing?" he asked.
"Huh?"
"What if someone told you they hated your singing; thought it was annoying, whatever. And everyday, you sang them a new song, trying to find the one that would convince them that you're not a bad singer and that you love what you're doing." He raised his head a bit and made eye contact. "How would you feel?" She sat down on the edge of his bed and looked at her hands.
"Pretty terrible," she admitted. Phineas nodded and scooted over to sit by her.
"That's what it feels like every time you yell at us."
"I'm sorry," Candace whispered, words full of emotion. "I had no idea... Can I tell you why I yell at you though?" He nodded. "I want to keep you guys safe and, face it, your inventions don't always look that safe. You're my brothers and I want to protect you."
"That I can understand, but what about them always ruining your day? Are they that bad?" The way he looked at her, so lost, broke her heart.
"No, no, it's just, how can I justify going off with my friends when I'm worried about you guys? And, a lot of the time, your inventions are so much cool. I'm worried my friends would rather hang out with you guys than with boring old me." Phineas' eyes widened.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"But Candace! You're the coolest big sister ever! Why wouldn't they want to hang out with you?" Candace chuckled a bit. "Do- do you really think our inventions are cool?"
"Yeah. They're amazing. You guys are really talented," she admitted. Phineas' mouth started to form a smile that just got bigger and bigger.
"Wow. Thanks. Don't tell anyone I told you this, but that's one reason why we keep trying, keep building things. We want to impress you." Candace looked at him in shock.
"Impress me? Why?"
"You're our big sister! You're the coolest person we know and if you don't like our stuff then, well, what does it matter if anyone else does?" They were silent for a moment as she took this in.
"I didn't know you thought so highly of me... Even though I yell at you guys so much. Gosh, Phineas, can you ever forgive me?"
"Of course!" he responded, with a smile.
"Thank you," she replied and gave him a huge hug. "I promise I'll try and be a little less uptight."
"And I promise we'll take more obvious safety measures." She laughed a bit.
"Alright." They both looked over as the door opened a bit and Ferb stuck his head in.
"Get in here Ferb!" Phineas called. The green hair boy needed no other urging and quickly joined his siblings in a giant group hug.
It had been a good day.